Do You Love Me?
by Maximan
Summary: When Sawyer comes back from SEA Semester, things become different between him and Hazel. The bond they used to have changes when they become "more than friends." Challenges begin to face them, and they begin to question. Can they overcome their problems, or will things ruin their friendship? Have they already broken it by becoming more? Find out in Do You Love Me?
1. Sawyer's Back

It had been three long months since Hazel Haskett saw Sawyer Nelson. He had left to attend a Boston SEA program on a boat, and he was finally coming home. During that time, Hazel and Sawyer would text almost everyday. Her dad, Dr. Clay, kept warning her that it was costing them a big phone bill, but she didn't listen.

The day he was coming home, Hazel paced back and forth in the crows nest where she often hung out, thinking. _You can do it Hazel. Just tell him. As soon as you see him just come right out and say it._

"Hazel!" she heard her dad call, interrupting her deep thought. Her face lit up. "Sawyer must be back," she said to herself. Hazel climbed down the ladder as fast as she could, then ran down the stairs of the dock. Just then, a car pulled up in the parking lot of Clear Water. A door opened and Sawyer stepped out. Hazel stood in front of him smiling. "Hey," she said while she lifted her hand out for him to shake. Sawyer grabbed it, but then quickly pulled her in for a hug instead. Hazel was surprised, but she enjoyed every second. "I have so much to tell you," Sawyer said with a grin, after they pulled away.

"So do I," Hazel muttered to herself. Sawyer smiled at her then turned to his mom, Lorraine who was standing behind her son. "Can I see Winter mom?" he asked. Lorraine nodded.

"Of course!" she told him.

Sawyer looked at Hazel. "Race you!" he shouted, then ran towards an entrance. Hazel ran after him into the aquarium. Once they reached the pools Sawyer jumped in, but Hazel hesitated. "What are you waiting for?" he said to her. Sawyer then grabbed her arm and pulled her in.

They swam with Winter for a few minutes until it was time to get out. Hazel and Sawyer got towels then sat down in the crows nest to dry off. It was very sunny out so they dried off fast.

"So did you have fun at the SEA program?" Hazel asked.

"Of course!" Sawyer replied. "But I missed Winter," he said.

"Oh," Hazel simply said.

"And you." He smiled at her, and she smiled back.

"So what's been happening here?" he asked.

"Oh you know, same old stuff. We rescued and released more animals."

"That's great."

_Hazel this is the perfect time to tell him, _she thought.

"Um Sawyer?" Hazel said.

"Yeah?" Sawyer grinned at her making the situation way more difficult.

_I can't do it, _she thought.

"Uh, it's time to feed the dolphins," she said instead.

…

Sawyer came home from a busy day at the aquarium. He dropped his bag down on the floor then sighed heavily as he sat on the couch. Lorraine came in with a glass of water and a snack for her son. "Honey take a break you just got home from a three month trip," she told him.

"They need me there mom. Plus Winter missed me," he said.

Lorraine smiled. "Okay, if your willing to do all that hard work." She sat down the water and snack on the side table. "But I think Winter's not the only reason you want to work there," she teased as she walked to the kitchen. Sawyers eyes widened. "Is it that obvious?" he said aloud. Sawyer grabbed his phone and started to text his cousin Kyle.

_**Sawyer: I need 2 talk 2 u**_

_**Kyle: Sure man. On here or in person.**_

_**Sawyer: In person.**_

_**Kyle. Okay I'll be right over.**_

Sawyer waited for Kyle to come on the front porch of the house. Kyle didn't live too far so he came right away. As soon as Sawyer saw him pull up he went up to greet him "Hey Sawyer," Kyle said as she shut the car door. "What's up?" he asked.

"I need help," Sawyer said as they sat on the porch.

"Okay try me., Kyle said. It took Sawyer a minute to get it out.

"How do tell a girl that you like her?"

"Oh so there's a girl?" Kyle teased. Sawyer looked away.

'Maybe..." he said.

"So does this girl happen to like dolphins too?" Kyle said. Sawyer's eyes widened.

"How did you know?" he asked.

"Oh come on, we all new," Kyle said. Sawyer put his hands on his face.

"I've known her for four years Kyle. What if she only like me as a friend.?"

"Well that risk will be your decisions Sawyer." Kyle patted his shoulder. "And trust me, if you don't tell her you'll regret it forever." he told him.

That stuck in Sawyer's head the rest of the day and through out the night. He lay awake thinking about it. If he never told her Hazel she could end up with another guy. He could never live through life seeing Hazel with someone else. Sawyer turned side ways in his bed and stared at a photo that sat on top of this side table. It was of him and Hazel playing with Hope. A few minutes later he finally fell asleep.

The next morning was bright and sunny. Sawyer went to the kitchen and grabbed a banana for breakfast. He said goodbye to his mom then hopped on his bike to go to work. When he got there he was greeted by Hazel and her dad. "You guys can start off by feeding the dolphins," Clay said. He handed a bucket to Sawyer that was filled with small fish. Hazel and Sawyer walked into the aquarium. Inside, a girl walked over to Sawyer.

"Hey Sawyer!" she said.

"Hi Jordan," he greeted. Hazel stood there awkwardly. "Hazel this is Jordan she was on the trip too."

Jordan put out her hand so Hazel could shake it, but she refused.

"Sawyer we gotta feed the dolphins," she said grabbing the bucket. Sawyer walked to the edge of the pool where Hazel was bent over putting fish in the water. "So what are you doing here?" he asked Jordan whilst throwing fish to Winter.

"I've been wanting to meet Winter since like forever, so I asked my mom if I could," Jordan said.

"Here why don't you feed her?" Sawyer suggested. He handed the bucket to her. She came over and bent down next to him.

"So," she said, after feeding Winter. "Is this your girlfriend?" she asked, looking at Hazel. Sawyer was surprised by the comment.

"Hazel? No, .were just friends," he replied quickly. Hazel looked in the other direction.

"Are you sure?" Jordan asked.

"Um.. Yeah." Sawyer said along with a quiet sigh.

"Oh," Jordan said as she went on her way.

Hazel and Sawyer looked at each other with awkward smiles then got back to feeding Winter.


	2. Phoebe's Advice

The next day Hazel found Phoebe in the water with Winter. She was giving Winter her breakfast. Hazel walked over to the pool and sat down with her feet in the water. "Hi Hazel," Phoebe said.

"Hey Phoebe. Can I ask you a question?" Hazel asked.

"Sure go ahead," Phoebe said with a smile. Hazel was glad she could come to Phoebe with any problem she had. Since she didn't have a mom, Phoebe was the one she could go to, to talk about girl stuff.

"Is it weird if the girl says she likes the guy before he does?" Hazel said.

"No way," said Phoebe. "If you know for sure that you like him then I don't see why you can't tell him first."

"Oh, okay," said Hazel.

"But either way, you shouldn't just keep it inside of you. Do what your heart tells you," Phoebe explained. Hazel nodded her head with a small smile.

"Thanks," she said. Hazel stood up and walked around the corner. She wasn't looking where she was going and bumped right into Sawyer who was going in the same direction. That caused Hazel to fall to the ground. Sawyer immediately helped her up. "We seem to do this a lot," he joked after Hazel got to her feet. She laughed. "Yeah, we do."

"Do you have a minute?" Sawyer asked. Hazel glanced at a clock near by.

"Sure," she said. Sawyer gestured her to follow him into the crow's nest. They sat side by side one another. Sawyer had his hand in the pocket of his shorts. Seconds later he pulled out a box. He opened it and inside was necklace with a dolphin attached to it. Sawyer pulled it out and handed it to Hazel. "Wow it's very pretty," she said.

"I knew you'd like it," Sawyer said. "Here let me put it on for you." He took the necklace out of her hand and began to put it around her neck. Hazel looked down at the necklace then at Sawyer. They stared into each others eyes, then slowly they both leaned in.

_Is this really happening? _Hazel thought.

_Come on Sawyer just do it, _Sawyer thought.

Their moment was broken when they heard a commotion going on. Hazel and Sawyer immediately went to see what was going on. "What's happened?" Hazel asked. Phoebe came towards them. "Sorry I spilled a bunch of fish," she told them.

_Are you kidding me?__!_Sawyer thought.

"Why don't you guys take a break," Phoebe told them.

Sawyer smiled at Hazel. "Race you to the beach!" he said, running.

"Not again!" Hazel said, trying to chase after him. She ran after him down to the beach where they threw off their shoes and ran to the ocean. Sawyer splashed some water at Hazel and she did the same to him. They ran around and had a good time for a few minutes before getting bored. Sawyer and Hazel grabbed their shoes then walked along the beach. "You know Hazel, you're really fun to be around," Sawyer said.

"Oh stop it," Hazel teased. Sawyer laughed.

"No really. You are," he said truthfully. Hazel looked at him and smiled. He was the sweetest person she's ever met. Was he gonna tell her?

...

After a late dinner Sawyer was in his bedroom on his bed with a book. He began randomly flipping through pages, because he wasn't really interested in actually reading the book. He stopped when he reached a certain page of the book. There was something stuck inside the page. It was a small piece of paper in the shape of a rectangle. Sawyer grabbed the paper knowing exactly what it was. It was a photograph of Hazel. He remembered that he had printed it out on the day he realized he liked her. At first he thought it was ridicules that liked her so that's why he put it in the book. But now he was so sure of it. Sawyer took the picture and stared at it. "Why can't I just tell you Hazel," he said to the picture. "Whenever I look at you I get so nervous and I can't do it. And-" Sawyer heard someone knocking on his door. Lorraine peered in.

"Hey Sawyer," she said. "I was wondering where you went after dinner."

"I'm just thinking mom, I'm fine." Sawyer told her. Loraine walked up to the bed and sat down next to him. She raised one eyebrow. "Are you sure?" she asked knowingly. Sawyer sighed deeply. He shook his head.

"No," he said.

"You wanna tell me?" Lorraine asked her son. Sawyer gave his mom the picture of Hazel.

"What's this for?" she asked.

"I printed it out," he said.

"Oh so you like Hazel?" Lorraine smiled.

"How did you know?!" Sawyer said.

"I saw the looks in your eyes honey. I've just been waiting so long for you to admit it," she said. Sawyer laughed. "Man I guess everybody knew," he said. "What am I gonna do mom?"

"Honey, you do what you think is right," Lorraine told him. She kissed his cheek then turned out his light. Sawyer fell fast asleep a few minutes later.


	3. Hazel's dream

**Sorry this chapter took awhile. I just feel like my chapters are too cheesy and weird. Anyway thanks for the reviews they really make me smile. Enjoy!**

* * *

Sawyer woke up with only one thing on his mind: He was determined to tell Hazel that he liked her. He didn't know how and he didn't know when but he new he had to. In the kitchen Sawyer's mom had made a nice breakfast of eggs, pancakes, and bacon. Turkey bacon in fact., she was trying to heat more healthy. She placed two plates on the table, one for her and one for her son. Sawyer came into the kitchen. "Hi honey, you going to the aquarium today?" Loraine asked. Sawyer shrugged as he sat down at the table.

"You don't have to if you don't feel like it. I can talk to Clay." She told him

"No mom, it's okay." He said as he put eggs onto his plate. "I have things to take care of." He muttered.

* * *

At the boat house Hazel was getting ready for a run when her phone buzzed with a text. It was Sawyer. She opened it and began reading it.

**Sawyer: **Hazel meet me in the crows nest at 8:00 am

Hazel checked the time on her phone. It was 7:58 am. _Guess I'm not going on that run anymore. _She thought. _I wonder what Sawyer's up to. _

She got to the crows nest and found Sawyer already there. He was leaning against the edge looking towards Hazel. She climbed up the stairs and up the ladder. "You know I was about to go for a run." Hazel told Sawyer. "Sorry." He said with a laugh. Hazel stood next to him.

"So what did you want?" She asked him.

"Oh nothing." He said. She raised an eyebrow.

"Sawyer." Hazel said sternly. Sawyer sighed heavily. He was caught.

"Okay fine. The truth is Hazel… I thought about you more than Winter when I was away." He told her. _What was he trying to say? _Hazel thought. "And," He started. "Oh gosh this is so embarrassing."

"No, no go ahead." Hazel said. Sawyer turned his back towards her., so she couldn't see his blushing face.

"I like you _more_ than a friend." He blurted out quickly, then held his breath. Hazel smiled then said,

"So do I." That made Sawyer turned around with a confused look on his face.

"What?"

"I liked you too Sawyer." She told him. "You know that one time when that girl from you're class kept talking to you?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, I was really jealous if you couldn't tell." She said. Sawyer smiled.

"What? I didn't notice." He teased. Hazel pushed him playfully.

"So what now?" She asked. Sawyer put his hands in the air.

"We tell the world!" He shouted. Hazel looked embarrassed.

"Sawyer!" She exclaimed.

"I'm just kidding." He said. "It's a beautiful day, lets go swim with the dolphins!" Sawyer suggested. And so they did. They didn't even think about what they had said earlier. They just enjoyed the moments that were happening right then.

* * *

That night Hazel was laying in her bed with a huge grin on her face. She felt like a weight had been lifted of her shoulders. Hazel was glad that they finally told each other but then she realized, what would happen next? Would they go on a date? How many dates do people go on before they become boyfriend and girlfriend? Did Sawyer even want to be her girlfriend? Hazel would also have to tell her dad all about this eventually. After all these thoughts made her head hurt, she finally snapped. "Ugh, just go to bed Hazel. At least you told him." Hazel said to herself. She turned over on one side and then fell asleep…

_The tears were steaming down her face like a waterfall. She couldn't hold them in. Not when he was standing right there with his luggage and backpack in hand. Why did things like this have to happen?. She was a good person. She loved people, animals, nature. She was a bright happy human being. _

"_I have to go now." The boy said. He too had a steam of tears coming down his face, ever so slowly. _

"_It's not fair!" She screamed as she hugged him tightly. He stroked her shoulder and told her everything was going to be okay, even though he new it wasn't . _

"_I really have to go, my mom is waiting in the car." He said. The boy walked slowly to his car and opened the door._

"_I love you!" The girl shouted. The boy looked out the window of the car and smiled with tears still streaming, then the car drove off. He was gone…_

* * *

"I had a strange dream yesterday." Hazel told her dad the next day on their way to the aquarium.

"Really? What was it about" He asked.

"Well there was this girl and she was saying goodbye to some guy that I'm guessing she liked or something." Hazel explained. "But it was weird, it almost felt real. Like I was the girl."

"Oh, so who would have been the boy?" Clay asked teasingly.

"I don't know dad. It's just a dream." Hazel said, even though she had a feeling it was Sawyer. A very strong feeling in fact. Clay laughed then put his arm around his daughter.

"You know Hazel, we got to have another one of those daddy and Hazel days." He told her.

"I haven't done that since I was eight dad." Hazel reminded him.

"I know, but it doesn't mean we can't do that again. I mean, we could go somewhere to eat and talk about things." He said.

"Okay, okay fine." She agreed. "When do you want to do it?" She asked.

"How about later this afternoon, lunch time?" Clay suggested.

"Sure." She said.

"So," Clay began after they order their food at a local seafood restaurant. "Got any secrets?" He teased. Hazel rolled her eyes at him. "Dad!" She whined.

"Oh come on, you told all kinds of stuff to your mom." He said. Hazel suddenly felt sad.

"Yeah.." She said quietly.

"Oh I'm sorry Hazel. I didn't mean to make you sad." He apologized. "Look you can talk about whatever you want."

"Okay…" Hazel thought for minute. "How many dates did you and mom have before you guys became, you know, boyfriend and girlfriend?"

"Wow such a specific question." He said. "Well, we went on eight or nine dates before I officially told her." Clay told her. Hazel was surprised.

"That must have been hard, right?" She asked.

"Oh, I thought it would be, but once I got around to it felt like the easiest thing in the world."

"So how did you do it?"

"Well, the day before, I told her to meet me at our special place. I dressed up in a suit and tie and-" Hazel stopped him and laughed.

"Really dad?"

"Yes really, now let me finish." Clay said. "So I waited five minutes and she finally came. Then I asked her to be my girlfriend." Hazel grinned.

"That's so sweet." Hazel beamed. Clay nodded, but felt a little sad in his heart. Then the waiter finally came over with there food. "Let's eat." Clay said grabbing his fork and knife.

It was a very great day for Hazel.

* * *

**Eh, that was an okay chapter I guess… You may think it's all happily ever after right? Well… You'll have to wait and see! Byeee. Oh and I'm gonna watch Dolphin Tale ( the first one) again soon! Eeeep I can't wait! Okay bye!**


	4. First Date

**I don't know why I named this Do you Love Me. I just needed a title. Lol. So, I have lots of great things planned so be waiting!**

**And I don't own ****Dolphin Tale ****or ****Starbucks . ****Oh and thanks, **_**WiseGirl1993**_** for the Starbucks idea!**

* * *

It was a morning Sawyer never felt better in a such long time. He got out of bed with a huge grin on his face and walked over to the bathroom next to his bedroom. He grabbed a comb and brushed his hair to one side. Then Sawyer gave himself two thumbs up in the in the mirror. That day he was ready for school earlier than usual. Even though he hated going, he felt like today was going to be a good day. Nothing and no one would ruin it for him.

Sawyer told his mom he was ready for her to drive him to school. Lorraine had promised him a while back that if he did well in school she wouldn't let him ride the bus. And Sawyer did everything he could so wouldn't have to. Lorraine heard her son and grabbed her car keys from the kitchen counter. She smiled at her son. "Well you got up extra earlier today." Lorraine said. She walked over to him and put a hand up to his forehead. "Are you feeling okay?" She teased. Sawyer jerked away.

"Mom!" He whined. Lorraine laughed then said, "I'm sorry honey. I'm just happy you're early for once."

Sawyer nodded with a side ways smile then put his backpack on his shoulder.

"You _are _going to school right?" She joked.

"Yes mom." Sawyer said a little bit irritated. That was Lorraine's cue that it was time to go.

The ride to Sawyer's high school only took about five minutes. The bus ride would of taken fifteen. When they reached the school's parking lot, Sawyer said goodbye to his mom, got out and shut the car door behind him. "Here we go." Sawyer told himself.

His first class was Algebra 2. It started at 7:30 am, but he had about five minutes till it actually started. That was enough time for him to get to his locker and grab the necessary books he needed for that class. Despite not having the best memory to help him with tests and quizzes, Sawyer remembered his locker combination very well. He had learned a trick from Hazel. Though she never had experience with lockers, it really worked. Sawyer unlatched the lock then opened his locker. There were pictures of Winter and Hope on the door and one of him and Hazel. He put his backpack inside after taking out his binder and algebra text book.

"Sawyer?" He heard a voice call his name. Sawyer turned around to find Susie, a girl he had new before from his Marine biology class he taught. "Hi Susie." He greeted with a smile. Susie stepped closer to him in a friendly way.

"Sawyer. I know you're busy after school, but I was wondering if you wanted to hang out. Maybe we could study or something?" She asked him. Sawyer was surprised.

"Well, that is very nice of you Susie, but I have some things to do." He told her sincerely. He kind of felt bad that he had just turned her down, but he really couldn't hang out with her today. Susie was sad but she did her best to hide it from him. "Oh, that's okay. I had stuff to do anyway." She spun around then walked away to her class.

* * *

Hazel finished her last subject of her home schooling online. She shut her laptop closed and let out a sigh of relief. She loved school, but today she was feeling really anxious and wanted to get done as soon as she could. Hazel thought about what Sawyer was doing. _I hope he had a good day._ She thought, feeling empathy for him. Since she met him, Sawyer broke out of his shell, but he was still a little bit quiet at school and didn't have a ton of close friends. Hazel's phone buzzed on the table. She reached for it and checked her messages.

_I told Susie I couldn't hang out with her today. And now I feel bad. _Sawyer's text read. Hazel cringed after reading Susie's name.

_What did you tell her? _She typed. One minute later he typed back.

_**Sawyer: **__I said I had stuff to do._

_**Hazel: **__Well you do right? _

_**Sawyer: **__Yeah. of course…_

_**Hazel: **__Then don't feel bad Sawyer If you're busy then your busy. _She only typed that because she was happy that he didn't accept Susie's offer. Hazel wasn't even sure that was the right thing to say. _You finished with school? _She typed again.

**Sawyer: **_Yes. I'll be over there soon._

* * *

Clay was sitting next to the boat house while reading a book and sipping a cup of coffee when he noticed Sawyer walking towards him slowly. He sat down his cup down on the table and motioned his hands for Sawyer to come closer. He sat down hesitantly next to Clay. "Sawyer, we've known each other for a while now, you don't have to be shy around me." Clay told him.

"I know." Sawyer said looking down at his brown shorts. Clay smiled then picked up his book and started reading again. Sawyer looked at him then looked away. Clay noticed his gesture then said, "You need anything Sawyer?" He asked the brown haired teen.

"Uh, yeah. I just wanted to ask you something." Sawyer said. Clay nodded his head waiting for Sawyer to speak. He was hesitant, but Sawyer finally managed to say something.

"I really like your daughter, Clay." He said.

"Yes, I can see that. You two have become great friends." Okay, Clay was not getting what Sawyer was saying. Or maybe he did, but he juts didn't want to admit it.

"Yes we have… but I wanted to know if I could take her out." Sawyer finished. Clay didn't say anything for a few minutes.

"Oh. You mean a date right?" Clay asked.

"Yes… but if you don't want me too that's okay-" Sawyer said, but Clay stopped him.

"No, no. It's fine. You go ahead and ask her." Clay told him. They exchanged smiles.

After he got Clay's approval. Sawyer looked for Hazel around the aquarium. " Hazel!" Sawyer said, stopping her from walking ahead. She spun around.

"What?" She asked.

"Do you want to go to Starbucks with me?" He asked.

"You do remember I hate coffee right?" Hazel reminded him. Sawyer felt so dumb. He had completely forgotten.

"Never mind then." He said walking away. Hazel grabbed his arm.

"But I never said I didn't want to go." Hazel said starring at him. Sawyer smiled.

"It's a date then!" He told her. She smiled until she realized what he had just said. _A date?! Sawyer asked me out on a date? _Hazel thought as she watched Sawyer walk away. "Meet you there!" She heard him yell. Hazel went to her boat house to find something for her to wear. Although she could of left what she was wearing on, Hazel felt like she needed to change. She was about to open the door when someone grabbed her arm. Hazel looked to the side surprised to find her dad with a angry expression on his face. "Dad?" Hazel said. Clay folded his arms.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked firmly.

"Huh?" Hazel said very confused.

"You and Sawyer are together, right?" He asked demanding an answer.

"No dad." Hazel told him.

"Where are you two going then?"

"We're just going to Starbucks dad! It's only a few blocks away.! What's your problem?" She said. Clay sighed realizing how harsh he was being. "I'm sorry." He said. "Just go."

Hazel didn't bother to change, Sawyer was probably waiting for her anyway.

* * *

Sawyer sat in a small booth at Starbucks patiently waiting for Hazel. He was nervous and excited at the same time. A few seconds later he saw a blonde haired girl walk in. Sawyer got up and greeted Hazel like he hadn't seen her in days. "Hi." She said. Sawyer noticed the lack of excitement in her voice. They both sat down in the booth Sawyer was sitting at earlier. "What's wrong?" He asked her.

"My dad." She said. "We kind of had a fight."

"Can I ask what it was about?" Sawyer said.

"I don't know. It feels like he doesn't want us together." She told him.

"I'm sure that's not the case." Sawyer said trying to make her look at the situation differently. Hazel looked up at him.

"I hope your right."

* * *

**There you go. Chapter four. Please review! I love your feedback! :)**


	5. Susie

**Here is chapter 5! Please read and review :)**

* * *

Hazel paced back and forth as she waited for her dad to come out of the house. She had been meaning to confront him ever since what happened yesterday. Something was obviously bothering her dad and she had to figure it out. "Hazel, what are you doing?" Clay asked his daughter after he opened the door of their house. "Shouldn't you be starting your school work?" He told her.

"Yes dad, but I _need _to talk to you." Hazel said. They both sat down at the small table next to the boat house.

"First, I just want to say how sorry I am for how I acted yesterday" Clay apologized.

"Well that's what I wanted to talk about." She said. "Why did you act that way?" She asked him.

"I don't, I guess I just wasn't ready." He told her. Clay sighed and looked down. Hazel was confused.

"Ready for what?" She asked.

"For you to grow up." He said.

"But dad, I'm still your daughter." She said.

"Yeah but now you got a boyfriend." He said smiling.

"Dad! Sawyer's not my boyfriend." Hazel exclaimed with an embarrassed smile.

"Yet." Clay finished. Hazel smiled then got up to give him a hug.

"Thanks dad." She told him.

"For what?"

"For not staying mad."

"Your welcome." He said hugging her.

* * *

When Sawyer got home from school he went into his house to find his mom and a guy he had never seen before sitting at the kitchen table. Sawyer awkwardly walked in slowly. Lorraine noticed her son coming in and greeted him.

"Oh hey Sawyer, this is Ron. I met him at the park. He's on a business trip here."

Ron smiled at him. "Your mom has told me a lot about you. She says your quite the expert on Marine Biology." Sawyer nodded. "Uh mom, I'll be in my room studying." He told her.

"Okay. Dinner will be ready at five."

Sawyer sat on his bed with a weird expression on his face. Who the heck was that guy and why was he in his house? I mean, his mom did explain why he was here, but didn't she just meet him? Sawyer sighed as he opened his laptop that was sitting on his side table. He began to work on his essay for school. The topic was, what kinds of things influences you in your life? That would be easy for Sawyer. Winter. Winter influenced him in many ways.

Three hours later Sawyer had a full four paged essay and it was five o clock. Lorraine called him from the kitchen for dinner. Sawyer got up and was surprised to find Ron still there. "Mom, what is he doing here?" Sawyer politely whispered, hoping Ron wouldn't hear him. "I invited him to stay for dinner." Lorraine said smiling. Sawyer sat down without saying a word.

"Hey Sawyer, why don't you tell me all about the work you do at the aquarium?" Ron asked him. Sawyer looked at him, then at Lorraine.

"Mom, I'm actually not hungry, can I go to my room?" He asked her. Lorraine looked a little disappointed.

"Fine, go ahead." She told him.

* * *

Hazel and Sawyer were on pool duty, which meant they had to scrub them clean. They each started on their own side of the pool. After about a few minutes of getting in to it, Hazel and Sawyer began talking to each other. "So I talked to my dad." Hazel told him. "Everything's okay now."

"That's great." Sawyer said, looking at her with a grin.

"What's been going on with you?" She asked him as she continued to work.

"My mom met this guy and now he suddenly wants to stay at our house all the time." Sawyer told her. "It's kind of weird." He said. Hazel laughed.

"Hey at least your mom is meeting people. My dad won't even talk to other women besides the one's who work here." She said.

"Hey Sawyer!" They heard a voice say. Sawyer immediately turned his head because his name was being called. It was none other than Susie. _What is she doing here? _Hazel thought.

"How did you get in here?" Hazel asked her. She was trying not to sound angry, but it still came out that way. Susie glared at Hazel.

"Your dad let me in." She said. For some reason Hazel didn't want to be believe her.

"I got to get something, I'll be right back." Sawyer said to girls. Susie smiled at him as he walked past her. Hazel ignored her and began to finish scrubbing the pool.

"Stay away from him." She heard Susie say. Hazel looked up at her.

"I'm sorry what?" Hazel said. Susie walked over to Hazel.

"Stay away from Sawyer, Hazel." Susie said. This time clarifying who the _he_ was.

"Were just doing our job here." Hazel confronted her.

"I meant outside of work." Susie told her.

"And what if I don't?" Hazel asked her with confidence.

"Then I will do this." Susie pushed her with all her strength causing Hazel to fall backwards and hitting her head slightly on the edge of the pool. At that moment, Sawyer walked in.

"What happened?!" He exclaimed. Susie shrugged, and said

"She must of slipped or something." Sawyer looked at her then jumped in the pool to save Hazel.

"Are you okay?" He asked her, all out of breath. Hazel rubbed the back of her head.

"Ow." She said in pain.

"What happened?" He asked, hoping to get a different answer.

"I don't know." Hazel said. "All I remember is that someone was pushing me." She told him. Sawyer thought for a moment then looked to find Susie.

She was gone.

"Let me get your dad, I'll be right back!" He said.

"No! Sawyer don't leave me." Hazel said. She had a feeling Susie would come back.

"It'll just take a second." Sawyer said.

"Okay." She replied. Sawyer got up and ran to find Clay. Hazel sat up and scratched the back of her head looking for any blood. That's when she realized someone was behind her.

"You're still here?" Hazel said to Susie.

"Did you really think I would just push you in the pool and then run off with out apologizing?" Susie said.

"Yes." Hazel said.

"Well you're right." Susie said. She leaned in closer to Hazel. "This was your first warning." She told her.

"You probably, don't want a second." Susie grinned than walked away.

_Should I tell Sawyer about this? _Hazel asked herself. She couldn't believe Susie was actually threatening her.

* * *

**Hey guys, thanks for reading chapter 5. Sorry it's a little short. Anyway, I really didn't want to make Susie a mean character, but I needed some other conflict to go with the main conflict if the story. So please don't hate me! **

**Oh, and I made this Hazel and Sawyer video if you want to watch it. My channel is "therealmaximan" Or you can search "Hazel and Sawyer How to Save a Life" on Youtube!**

**Ps Do you think I should change the title of this story? I feel like it doesn't fit with the whole I have in my head. idk I guess it doesn't matter.**


	6. Real First Date

**So I guess this story is kind of AU since Susie is actually super nice. Beside that I guess there all in character. (I hope) But anyway, thanks for your reviews, they really keep me going. (I know I say that every time but I mean it) My goal is to get to more than 50 reviews, but even if I don't its okay! I don't own ****Dolphin Tale.**

* * *

"So are you _sure_ your head is fine?" Sawyer asked Hazel as they sat in the crow's nest the next morning.

"Yes Sawyer. My dad checked it." She reassured him.

"And you're sure you don't know what happened?" He asked. _Should I tell him Susie did it?_ Hazel thought. She decided not to.

"I think I just slipped or something. Really, I'm fine Sawyer. Don't worry."

"I know, I just care about you." Sawyer said. He felt the cheesiness in his voice, but he didn't care.

"Thank you." She said.

"You, know? I really need to take you on a proper date." He told her.

"And what's your idea of a proper date?" She joked.

"I'll surprise you." Sawyer said grinning.

"Great, and in the mean time you really need to get to school. Does your mom even know your here?" Hazel wondered.

"No." Sawyer said grabbing his backpack, and climbing down the ladder of the nest. "And we're going to keep it that way!" He shouted from below. Hazel shook her head and laughed. "That boy is really something." She said to herself with a smile.

* * *

"Mom, I'm home!" Sawyer called as he came into the house. He threw his backpack on the floor. No one answered. "Mom?" He said again. "I'm in the back!" He heard Lorraine shout. Sawyer opened the back door and found his mom and Ron sitting on lawn chairs in the grass of their backyard. Ron looked up from the newspaper he was reading. "Hello Sawyer." He greeted with a warm smile. Sawyer tried to return the smile. "Hi." He said. Sawyer looked over to Lorraine. "Mom, I need to talk to you." He told her. Lorraine nodded with a smile. She got up from her chair and walked over to her son. Sawyer looked at Ron then at his mom. Lorraine got the message that Sawyer wanted to talk in private. They both stepped in the house. "So what is it honey?" She asked him. Sawyer took a deep breath.

"Mom, I'm taking Hazel on our official first date tonight." Sawyer said. Lorraine smiled then hugged her son.

"Sawyer, I'm so happy for you two." She said, still hugging him. Sawyer grinned from the other end of the hug.

"Thank you mom." He said.

After Lorraine went back outside to Ron, Sawyer realized he still had to tell Hazel where they were going. _Meet me at the seafood restaurant in town 6:00 _He typed into his phone. Sawyer smiled as he pressed send.

* * *

After reading the text, Hazel told her dad about it, then began picking out what she should wear. She asked Phoebe to help her decide. Hazel pulled out a red dress out of her closet and showed it to Phoebe. She shook her head. Hazel tried on ten dresses before she found the right one. A light blue one, with white polka dots. Phoebe smiled at Hazel after she put it on. "You look wonderful." She told hazel.

"Thanks." Hazel said. Phoebe said goodbye to her, then Hazel went to find her dad. "Dad I'm ready to go." She told him. Clay looked at his daughter and smiled. "Wow Hazel, you look beautiful." He told her. Hazel grinned then hugged her dad. She thanked him then they went to the car.

Back at his house, Sawyer was picking out various shirts and pants to wear. He decided on a plain white t-shirt and blue jeans. For his hair, he added some gel and then combed it to the side. After he was satisfied on how he looked, Sawyer told his mom hi was ready to go. Lorraine complimented him on how he looked, then they headed to the car.

Sawyer got to the restaurant before Hazel. That gave him time to find a table and figure out what they would order. Sawyer went inside the restaurant and was greeted by a receptionist. Sawyer told her that he needed a table for two. She nodded, then guided him to the table. The receptionist gave him two menus. Now all Sawyer had to was patiently wait for Hazel to come. _I hope she read my text. _He thought. How embarrassing would that have been if she never showed up. Sawyer laughed at himself. Of course she read his text. Hazel never missed one from him. Suddenly, Sawyer felt nervous, his palms were sweating and his heart was beating

"Hi." He heard Hazel say. Sawyer looked up.

"Hi Hazel…" He said. "Wow, you look amazing."

"Thank you." She said sitting down in front of him.

"So shall we order?" He asked her with a smile.

* * *

They were only a few minutes into their meal, but Sawyer and Hazel were already deep into conversation. Sawyer told her about Ron and how he kept showing up at his house. Hazel was deciding if she should tell him about Susie. After about minutes of back and forth in her mind. She finally decided to. "Sawyer, I really have to tell you something." Hazel said.

"Sure, what is it?" Sawyer said.

"It was actually Susie's fault I fell into the pool. She pushed me." Hazel told him. Sawyer looked at her in disbelief.

"Really? Wow, that's not like her." He said.

"I know." She agreed,. "But people can be surprising."

"Why would she do that in the first place?" He wondered.

"Well she did threaten me." She told him. Sawyer was surprised.

"Do you want me to talk to her for you? I could talk to her." He said.

"No. This is my problem." Hazel said. "And lets not worry about her."

"Your right." Sawyer said. "Let's just enjoy right now."

Hazel and Sawyer exchanged grins, then finished the rest of their meal with smiles.

* * *

**Sorry this is a short chapter, but it's just a filler to prepare for the next chapter. Thanks for reading! Oh and I just realized everybody smiles a lot in this story lol.**

**Follow my instagram: hazleandsawyer**


	7. The question

**Okay. So after about a week (sorry) I finally have the courage to post another chapter :/ I know my writing isn't great, but this is practice for me so I can improve in the future. I tried to proof read more this time so I hope it's somewhat better. Other than that I don't own Dolphin Tale**

* * *

Hazel finished her school work early for the day so she could feed Winter and the rest of the dolphins. As she was giving them their meal, she noticed a familiar face walking towards her. It was Jordan, the girl Sawyer introduced to her. _Maybe she's a volunteer here._

Hazel smiled, as Jordan approached her. "Hi!" She said, returning a smile to Hazel.

"Hey." Hazel said. "So do you volunteer here now?" She asked. Jordan nodded happily.

"Is that alright?" Jordan asked.

"Yes of course!" Hazel said. "In fact, I need some help feeding the dolphins." Hazel told her.

"But that's your job." She said.

"Yeah, but it's easier with two people." Hazel said as she offered Jordan a bucket of fish and a net. The girls walked over to the edge of the pool.

"So do I just grab some fish in the net and then drop it in the water?" Jordan asked her. Hazel nodded before grabbing her own bucket and net.

"Hey, can I ask your some advice?" Hazel asked Jordan. She was hesitant at first to ask her since she barely knew Jordan, but she needed to talk to someone.

"Well, you asked the right person because it just so happens I'm great with helping people." Jordan said. Hazel felt relieved, maybe Jordan could actually help her.

"There's this girl..." Hazel started.

"And she likes Sawyer?" Jordan interrupted.

"Well yes, but that's not what's bothering me." Hazel told her. "She's been threatening me because I'm around Sawyer all the time."

"Seriously?" Jordan asked.

"Yeah. And I can't decide if I'm afraid, or if I should face her." Hazel said.

"Ooh, I'd just stay away from her. The more you mess with her, the more she's going to want to mess with you." Jordan said. Hazel thought about it for a moment.

"Hmm, I guess your right." Hazel said.

She was not going to let Susie bother her. At least for now.

* * *

Sawyer was in his bedroom trying to read a sports magazine, when really he was thinking. He had lots on his mind, but the one thing that worried Sawyer was Susie. Sawyer had met Susie and she seemed very nice. Why was Susie trying to hurt Hazel? Sawyer shook his head telling his mind that he didn't know why. He then switched his sports magazine to an animal magazine. He hated sports, but his mom bought him a bunch of magazines hoping he would find a love for one. Sawyer random flipped through the pages trying to get his mind of things. He started reading an article about an elephant who was best friends with a dog, when he heard people shuffling into his house. It was Lorraine and Ron and they were talking about something. Curiously, Sawyer hopped off his bed and pressed his ear against his door, trying to make out what they were saying. He heard Ron talking about how he married once before, but he doesn't have any children, and that he lives in Washington. _Washington DC?_ Sawyer thought. _No, Washington state._

Sawyer tried to hear the rest of the conversation but they kept moving farther away. He shrugged, then went back to his bed. Immediately after, someone knocked on his door. Lorraine came in. "Do you want something mom?" Sawyer asked.

"I just wanted to see if you were home." She said. Sawyer nodded.

Before leaving, Lorraine told Sawyer that Ron would be staying for dinner again.

_That was a close one,_ Sawyer sighed.

* * *

Sawyer was not the type of person to plan surprises, people usually planned ones for him. But today, a great idea to surprise Hazel came upon him and he had to do it. And with a little help from her dad, Sawyer could pull it off. He just needed to see if Clay would agree to it first.

Sawyer found Clay in his usual place and he explained his idea to him. Clay gladly agreed to help and they began to set up Sawyer's "secret surprise". In about two hours, everything was all set. Now all Sawyer had to do was send one text to Hazel and hope it would all work out.

_When you find an arrow, read the clues and follow them._ It said.

Hazel was inside the crow's nest when she read the text. At first she was confused, but then when Hazel looked around, she found a red paper arrow stuck to one of the docks. Hazel smiled as she read the clues given.

Hazel followed every clue until it led her to the beach. She didn't notice anything special.

"Is this a joke?" Hazel said aloud.

"Nope." Clay said from behind. Hazel turned around to find her dad.

"Follow me." He said extending out his arm. Hazel took it and let her dad led the way.

Soon, right in front of her was a picnic set for two. Sawyer was standing in front of her wearing a suit and holding flowers. Hazel's mind immediately thought about her dad when he asked her mom to be his girlfriend. Was Sawyer doing the same?

"What is this?" She asked. Sawyer walked over to her.

"What do you think?" He smiled. "It's a picnic on the beach."

"You did all this?" She asked. Sawyer nodded.

"With the help of your dad." Hazel smiled and her dad and gave if a hug. He smiled and thought it was time to leave the two alone.

* * *

"You know," Sawyer said, after their last bite of food. "Having a nice dinner wasn't the reason I planned this surprise." He told her.

"Really? That what was it?" She asked. Sawyer took a deep breath while he stood up. Hazel did the same.

"Hazel, I've wanted to ask you this ever since I got back from the SEA program..." He began. Hazel looked into Sawyer's eyes, eager to hear what he had to say.

"Would you be my girlfriend?" Sawyer asked.

"Uh-" Hazel tried to speak.

"Oh, you don't want to? That's okay." Sawyer said.

"No, no. I've been waiting for you to ask me that." Hazel smiled at him.

"Really?"

"Really."

"So?" Sawyer said, waiting for an official answer. Hazel laughed.

"Yes Sawyer, I'd love to be your girlfriend."

"Really?! Yes!" Sawyer said punching his fist in the air.

They both smiled. It was awkward for a moment until the silence broke as they leaned in for their first kiss. It was short and sweet and it made them smile.

But little did they know, someone was watching them.

* * *

**Um so yeah. I hope this is a good chapter. I don't really know if I like it. But whatever. :/**


	8. Ron's Offer

The next day, Hazel smiled as she scrubbed the docks near the boat house. Clay noticed her beaming grin and he knew that she was extra happy that day. Hazel hummed a song to herself as she tried to remove the excessive amount of bird poop that trailed along the dock.

"You know, you were never this happy to clean bird poop before," Clay said, teasing his daughter. He let out a chuckle, while folding his arms across his chest.

Hazel glared at her father.

"I'm just in a really good mood today," she told him.

"Would being Sawyer's girlfriend have anything to do with it?" Clay smiled.

"Maybe..." Hazel said, beginning to blush. Clay patted her back and gave her an I'm-sorry look. He then left her to continue cleaning.

The rest of the morning for Hazel, followed with school. She tried reading her text books, but found it vary hard to concentrate. _Wow, boys can really mess with your brain, _she thought. Hazel smiled, picturing Sawyer in her mind as she finished school.

...

Sawyer came home from school with a smile on his face. He was so glad that he had asked Hazel to be his girlfriend, he couldn't keep still the whole day. He entered the house, expecting it to be just his mom, but when he opened the door he found Ron sitting on his couch. Again. _What was that guy's problem? Did he have no friends?_ Sawyer thought. He awkwardly walked in and was about to head to his bedroom, but Lorraine stopped him.

"Sawyer, I've got exciting news," Lorraine said to her son. The smile on her face was not something Sawyer had seen in a while. _Oh no he better not have proposed or something. That'd be weird, they only just met_.

"Yeah, what is it?" Sawyer asked. Lorraine looked at Ron then back at Sawyer.

"Ron has invited us to go visit his home town in Seattle," Lorraine said, excitement full in her voice. "He's going back and he thought he could take us."

Sawyer didn't know what to say. He was glad that it wasn't a proposal, but he still was shocked.

"That sounds great," Sawyer said, faking a smile. Lorraine smiled back, not knowing her son's true feelings.

"How long will we be there?" he asked. Sawyer was hoping it was only for a day or two. He didin't want to be away from Winter and the dolphins for so long again. After all, he had just got back from a three month trip.

"A week. Doesn't that sound fun?" Lorraine said. Sawyer nodded and quickly darted to his room to avoid any further talk of the so called "fun trip."

"Yeah, sounds fun," he said to himself, as he lay on his bed. "If you call fun, spending a week in a boring city, and with someone who's practically a stranger to you." Sawyer sighed and he turned over on his side. He saw his cell phone sitting on his desk, and he debated if he should text Hazel about the trip. He contemplated for what seemed like hours, but he finally grabbed his phone. He started a new imessage to Hazel.

_**Sawyer: Hey I've got something to tell you, **_the text read.

Seconds later Hazel sent a message back.

_**Hazel: Yeah? **_

A smiley emoji followed.

_**Sawyer: That Ron guy I was telling you about invited me and my mom to go to Seattle with him. For a week. **_

_**Hazel: Seattle? ?**_

Uh oh, was she mad?

_**Hazel: That sounds so fun! **_

She had added a lot of emojis on that one.

_**Sawyer: Yeah but that means I'm going to leave Winter again.**_

_**Hazel: Sawyer, she'll be fine. It's just a week.**_

_**Sawyer: Hey I got an Idea...**_

_**Hazel: oh no...**_

_**Sawyer: No for real though. What if I asked my mom if you could come with us?**_

_**Hazel: Nah, I wouldn't want to intrude**_

_**Sawyer: No, Ron is the one intruding on me and my mom. **_

_**Hazel: Sawyer!**_

_**Sawyer: It's true though... So will you come?**_

_**Haze: If your mom says yes.**_

_**Sawyer: Cool**_

_**Hazel: Can't wait**_

Sawyer grinned as he put his phone back down. He lay back on his bed and wondered if Ron wouldn't mind another guest on the trip. He hoped he wouldn't. Spending time with Hazel could mean he could get to know her even more.

_**A/N: I've got lots planned for this story so there might be lots of chapters. Stay tuned! :)**_


	9. Flight

**A/N: Thank you so so so so so much for the reviews. I love and appreciate them all!**

**...**

Sawyer felt a little better about the trip to Seattle with Ron and his mom, but only if Hazel could come. He hoped his mom would say yes, but more importantly Clay. If Hazel wasn't able to come, he would have to suffer through a whole week with Ron, and he knew he would surely be bored to death. It's not that his mom was boring or anything, he just wanted someone his age to accompany him.

Sawyer anxiously waited in the living room after school for his mom so he could ask her. He didn't know why he was so nervous. Why would she say no? Maybe because she only wanted it to be a family trip? But Ron was _not_ family. He shook the possible negative reasons out of his head when he saw Lorraine coming into the house.

"I got your text. You wanted to ask me something?" Lorraine said, bringing in groceries to the kitchen table.

Sawyer nodded.

"Um, yeah I was wondering if maybe Hazel could come with us? You know, so I don't get bored in Seattle?" he asked hopefully.

Lorraine walked over to him and smiled. "You know I was just talking to Ron about that. He said he would love for Hazel to come," she said.

Sawyer grinned. "Great, I'll tell Hazel!" He immediately went to his room to text Hazel.

_**Sawyer: My mom said yes, what about your dad?**_

_**Hazel: Cool, my dad said yes too! He said it would good for me, and that I can work on some school while I'm there.**_

_**Sawyer: Great! I can't wait! :)**_

_**Hazel: :)**_

Sawyer smiled to himself as she thought about all the fun things he and Hazel could do together. He new that they were going to have the best time ever.

...

Hazel sat with her feet wading in the pool as she watched Winter peacefully swim. She was thinking about the trip to Seattle with Sawyer, when she sensed someone was behind her. Hazel turned around and was surprised to find Susie standing in front of her. Hazel hadn't seen her since the incident, so she wondered what Susie wanted. "So I heard your going to Seattle with Sawyer," Susie said. Her arms were folded across her chest and she had a serious expression.

"Yeah, um how did you know?" Hazel asked curiously.

"Sawyer told me," she said.

"Really?"

Susie nodded. Hazel was beginning to wonder why Susie was suddenly being nice to her. It seemed very suspicious.

"Have fun." Susie smiled, but it looked fake. Then she spun around and walked away.

"That was really weird," Hazel muttered to herself. She shrugged it off and went back to watching Winter.

...

Three days later, Sawyer was packed and ready for the trip. His mom and him drove with Ron to pick up Hazel on their way to the airport. Sawyer was anxious on the way there, but he loosened up once they reached Hazel's house. He walked over to the front door of the boat house and knocked on the door. Clay answered and he smiled. "Hazel, Sawyer's here," Clay called to his daughter.

Hazel showed up seconds later with her backpack and luggage in tow. Sawyer smiled, and Hazel said goodbye to her father. "Have fun, and don't forget to do some school while your there," Clay told her.

Hazel rolled her eyes.

"I will Dad." She kissed his cheek and walked with Sawyer to Lorraine's car. They sat next to each other in the back while Ron drove and Lorraine sat in the passenger seat.

The ride to the airport took a long dreaded hour. Sawyer and Hazel messed around on their iphones, and played fun car games to pass the time. They felt like little kids as they played eye spy, and counted how many Beatle cars they saw. Sawyer counted the most, he had won that game which made Hazel very angry. She was a very competitive person.

They finally drove into the airport and found a spot in the car garage. First they had to check in their bags before they could do anything else. Sawyer offered to help bring Hazel's bags, but she said she was fine.

The four of them got everything checked in and got through security. They boarded the plane, but had to wait for a few more minutes until they actually had to take off. Sawyer pulled out his phone when he felt that he was getting a text. He saw that it was from Susie.

"Who's that?" Hazel said trying to look at his phone. Sawyer quickly put his phone away. He didn't want to bother Hazel with Susie stuff, so he didn't tell her.

"No one," Sawyer said. He smiled at her.

Hazel shrugged and lay back in her seat. The flight was about to take off.


	10. Annoyed

Sawyer's idea of the trip was exactly what he had expected. His mom and Ron spent most of there time together, while Hazel and Sawyer did there own things. They went on the Space Needle together. Looked at some sharks and dolphins at the aquarium. (Which weren't nearly as great as Winter.) They even checked out a _Star Wars _exhibit in the Science Center. The whole day Sawyer had been avoiding all the texts he was getting from Susie. He was afraid Hazel would find out what was going on. She finally did on their last day of the trip.

"You keep getting texts, why aren't you answering them?" Hazel asked him, while she packed her bags in Ron's living room. He had a big house with a lot of guest rooms, so that's where they had stayed for the whole week.

"How did you know I got a text?" Sawyer asked. He thought he had turned his phone on silent the other day.

"Your phone has been vibrated all day." Hazel pointed to his pocket where is iphone bulged out. Sawyer felt dumb and embarrassed. Now he felt obligated to answer Susie's texts.

"You know whoever your ignoring, their probably very mad at you," Hazel told him. _Did she know who it was? _Sawyer thought. He nodded and took his phone out of his pocket. He walked across the room, to a more "private place" to check what Susie had sent him. There was too many to read at the moment, so he just told her that he was sorry he hadn't been answering them at all. Sawyer said nothing about ignoring her though.

"You kids ready to go?" Lorraine asked as she came into the living room of Ron's home.

"Yeah we've been ready for a long time, where have you been?" Sawyer told her. Lorraine pointed back at the kitchen.

"I was just talking with Ron," she said to her son who suddenly sounded like he was in a bad mood.

"Whatever," he mumbled. Hazel could hear him and she gave him wide-eyed a look.

"Well, if you guys are all ready we should get going," Lorraine told the two. Just as she said that, Ron came into the room with a suite case.

"He's coming with us?" Sawyer whispered to Hazel. She nudged his arm hard. "Ouch," he whispered back.

"Clearly you don't understand anything," Hazel told him as she got up from the couch where they were sitting. She pulled her luggage behind her.

…

They were on their flight back to Florida when Sawyer wanted to ask Hazel something. "So how come I don't understand anything?"

"Huh?" Hazel said, looking up from the magazine she was reading.

"Back at his house you told me, 'clearly you don't understand anything,' " he reminded her.

"Oh yeah that," Hazel remembered. " I over heard your mom and Ron talking…"

"And?"

"You really should learn to like him, it's obvious your mom likes him a lot," she explained.

"But what were they talking about?" Sawyer asked her. He was so curious now.

"That doesn't matter," she said, then went back to reading her magazine. This was annoying Sawyer so bad. He wanted know what Hazel had over heard. Then he remembered about the texts. It seemed like Hazel wanted to know who they were from. Well then if she wouldn't tell him about Ron and his mom's conversation, then he wouldn't tell her about Susie's texts.

Although he felt satisfied, deep down he still didn't feel right.

* * *

**Short, but I needed to get a chapter up. More stuff coming soon...**


	11. Unexpected

Sawyer didn't get much sleep on the plane. For some reason he had a strange feeling in his stomach, and he didn't know why. Hazel on the other hand slept like a baby. She didn't wake up a single time. And when they landed in Florida, Sawyer even had to shake her awake.

"Hazel, we landed," Sawyer whispered to her so she wouldn't be startled. She woke up and rubbed her sleepy eyes.

Ron, Lorraine and the two teens were one of the first to get off the plane. They had to walk a couple minutes to get to where Ron had parked his car. Hazel still felt tired, and she was walking a bit unsteady. Once, Sawyer had to stop her from almost falling.

"Whoa there," Sawyer said, grabbing Hazel's free arm. "A little wobbly there."

"Yeah," Hazel said as she rubbed her forehead. "It's weird. I usually only get this way when I feel like something is wrong with one of the animals back at the aquarium. Some strange thing I get."

"Huh," Sawyer said almost to himself, but loud enough for her to hear. He then rubbed his forehead like Hazel had done. "It must just be jet lag or something."

"Probably," Hazel replied.

When they got to Ron's car, Sawyer shrugged off the same weird feeling he felt earlier. He sat next to Hazel again, but they didn't talk as much. The car ride was boring so Hazel decided to sleep more.

They arrived at Clearwater where Ron dropped her off. She was greeted by her dad who was grinning at first. But when she went up to say hello, his face turned serious. "Hazel something happened while you were there, you need to come quick," Clay explained to her daughter.

From the car, Sawyer saw the commotion and immediately wanted to get out. He flung the car door open frantically, and raced after an already running Hazel. Lorraine couldn't figure out what was up, but she told Ron to stay put until Sawyer came back.

"Hazel," Sawyer called, out of breath from the running. "What's wrong?"

Hazel was next to her dad when he saw the expression on her face. It was motionless, but still very dark. He could see her eyes water as she looked into the pool. Sawyer cautiously looked down to see what she was seeing. Two dolphins were floating at the bottom of the pool. And no they were not hanging around there for fun. Those were the two babies they had rescued a week ago, and now they were dead.

Hazel wiped her eyes with her sleeve as her dad whispered , "I'm sorry". Things like this had happened before, but it would always hit Hazel hard. On the other end of the pool, Sawyer felt deep empathy for her. He shifted around, not knowing what to do in this surprising situation.

"There you are!" He heard a voice coming from behind that startled him. Sawyer turned around to find Susie in front of him. "What happened?" he asked her. He assumed she had been coming to volunteer when they were in Seattle.

"You didn't read all my texts," Susie reminded him. "Hazel's dad tried calling you but that wasn't working so he asked me to text you." she explained.

Sawyer slapped his forehead. That's why she was constantly texting him. Now he felt stupid for not answering his cell phone.

"Ohhh," another voice joined in. After Hazel had heard what they were talking about, she had to come over.

"That's who you were ignoring," she said to him with a grin. She wanted Susie to know loud and clear.

"You were trying to ignore me?" Susie asked him. Hazel laughed a little, but she was surprised that Susie hadn't kicked her out of the three way conversation. Sawyer gave Hazel a look that said shut up.

"No, I wasn't trying to ignore you," Sawyer defended himself.

"Then how come you didn't answer any of my messages?" Susie wondered.

"It was only because..." Sawyer started, but trailed off when he saw that Hazel was patently waiting for an answer. He couldn't say it though. Not to her at least. "Never mind," he said instead. "Sorry I ignored you Susie."

"That's okay," she said. "At least you know now." Then Susie left to talk to Clay.

Sawyer nodded and then followed Hazel. She wasn't going to take another look at the dolphins so she just decided to chill in the crows nest. Hazel didn't notice Sawyer following, she minded her own business until she felt someone behind her.

"Hey," Sawyer said softly to her. Hazel didn't say anything. She looked down at the floor as she sat against the nest.

"Can I sit with you?" he asked, even though he was already positioning himself next to her.

"I just wish..." Hazel said with a sniff.

"What?" he asked in a calm tone.

"I wish I shouldn't of came with you on that trip," she said.

"Why not, we had fun?"

"Yeah but all this stuff happened while we were gone. I wish I could of been there to help you know."

Sawyer's heart sunk a little. "Hazel, don't tell me you think it's your fault?"

"I don't know..."

"Yes you do know. It was not your fault," Sawyer said to her. He was trying his best to make her feel better. But clearly it wasn't working, because Hazel started crying again.

"Sorry Sawyer," she said.

"For what?"

"For getting sort of mad at you yesterday."

"Mad? You didn't seem mad at all." Sawyer scooted a little closer to Hazel, and she did the same. She placed her head on his shoulder and the tears stopped. Hazel felt a little better knowing that he was trying to comfort her.

"Hi, hi," a cheerful voice gradually came that interrupted their brief moment. Susie was making her way up the ladder of the nest. Sawyer felt awkward because of how close he was next to Hazel. Know one had ever seen them like that. He quickly jerked a little to get out of the position. Hazel felt the weird tension, and looked away.

"Hi Susie." Sawyer smiled. Hazel, as usual said nothing to her.

"Hi Hazel," Susie said.

Okay that was weird. Susie had just seen Hazel about five minutes ago, a_nd_ she was being nice to her. Was she the same Susie that had pushed her in the pool a couple weeks ago? Something was up.

Hazel just gave her fake smile. Mostly because she was still sad, but also because she didn't feel like talking to her.

"You guys busy?" she asked.

_Um, did she not just see us together? _Hazel thought, annoyed.

"Nope," Sawyer told her.

_No?! Are kidding me?_

Susie joined them and she sat down near the ladder. For the next few minutes, Hazel had to listen to them talk. After another minute, she had enough. She felt like the third wheel and she had to leave.

"Where you going? Sawyer asked her when he noticed her leaving.

Hazel eyed Susie, telling her to move away from the ladder so she could climb down. Susie scooted away and sat closer to Sawyer. Without looking back, Hazel continued to climb down the crows nest. Sawyer sighed to himself.

He suddenly felt something weird between him and Hazel.

It was nothing like he had felt before.

...

* * *

**So if you haven't noticed, I change the summary. I think I made it better... I still don't like the title of this story, but I'm not going to change it because I don't want to confuse people... **

**Anywho, thanks for taking your time to read my lame story! And thanks for the reviews!**


	12. Don't Worry

Sawyer got home from school feeling very tired. He didn't sleep well the other night, because he had a lot on his mind. Lorraine heard her son come in and she came from the kitchen to greet him. She noticed his expression, and automatically asked him how he was.

"I'm going to take a walk mom," Sawyer said, without answering her.

"Where?" she asked.

"The beach," he replied.

Sawyer put his backpack on the couch, and then went out the door. He trudged along the sidewalk, making his way to the beach near by. He had his hands in the pocket of his pants as he kicked rocks along the way.

When he reached the beach, he walked along the edge next to the water. He didn't care that his shoes were getting wet.

"Hi Sawyer!"

He turned around to find Susie in front of him. "How are you?" she asked him.

"Okay, I guess..." he replied.

"Do you want to talk?" Susie asked Sawyer. He just shrugged.

"I don't know. Yesterday I was just feeling something…" he started, but didn't finish. "Never mind." He shook his head.

"What?" she said.

"I don't want to put this all on you," he told her. "I'm just going to talk to Hazel."

"Oh."

Sawyer smiled at her and started to walk in the direction of Clear Water. Susie stood there for a moment, then followed him without him knowing. He stopped to look behind himself, and saw her. Sawyer motioned for her to come along, and she did.

At the aquarium, Sawyer went to Winter's main pool area. He saw three people trying to feed Winter. He knew that one was Hazel, the other was probably Jordan, but he didn't know who the other person was. Sawyer could see he was obviously a boy, and he was next to Hazel smiling, and laughing. He had to get a closer look.

"Hey," Sawyer said as he walked closer. Susie tagged along behind him.

"Hi Sawyer," Jordan greeted. She pointed to the boy that was standing next to Hazel. "This is my brother Jack," she said. Sawyer looked at Jack. He saw how they could be related.

"Hi Sawyer," Jack said to him. "Hazel has mentioned you."

"You did?" Sawyer said smiling at Hazel. She nodded with a smile. For some reason, that made him feel better.

"I've heard about those baby dolphins," Jordan said, her face looking sad. "I'm so sorry they died."

"Yeah…" Hazel said, her head was looking down into the water.

"She's trying to forget about that," Sawyer said to Jordan sincerely.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

Sawyer nodded, letting her know that it was okay. He then moved closer to where Hazel was kneeling down, feeding Winter. "Hey can I talk to you?" he asked her. She stood up and faced him.

"Sure," she said. Sawyer looked at Jordan, Susie and Jack, then pulled Hazel away to a more private place. Hazel was confused, but she just went along with it.

"So what do you want to tell me that's so private?" Hazel joked. Sawyer eyed her, and she stopped laughing.

"Sorry," she said.

"It's fine," Sawyer said.

"You can tell me, I'm listening."

"Um, yesterday when you… um."

"Yeah?" Hazel said. Sawyer shook his head.

"Never mind," he said.

Hazel frowned. _Why does he have to be shy?_

"Can you come over at my house for dinner?" he asked her. Maybe he would get the courage to tell her later.

"Of course," Hazel said.

"Great. Come at 6:30, I think my mom is making meatloaf. It's the best!" Sawyer beamed. Hazel smiled at him, and felt she really happy inside. Sawyer was the cutest.

…

Sawyer told his mom and that he had invited Hazel to come over for dinner, but when he was setting the table he noticed four plates instead of three.

"Mom, why are there four plates?" he asked her, after putting the last fork on the table. Lorraine wiped her hands on a dish towel and answered her son.

"Ron's staying for dinner also," she said smiling.

"Oh," Sawyer said quietly. He shrugged it off, then went into the living room to wait for Hazel. He must have not slept good the last night, because he ended up falling asleep on the couch. Lorraine noticed Sawyer lying on the couch, and she went to wake him up. "Sawyer," she yelled-whispered. "Hazel's here." Lorraine shook him a bit.

"Huh?" Sawyer opened his eyes, got up slowly and rubbed his face. "What?" he said.

"It's time for dinner," Lorraine told him. Sawyer's eyes widened and he sprang up from the couch. He had forgotten that Hazel was supposed to come over.

Sawyer walked into the kitchen where Ron and Hazel were seated.

"Hello Sawyer," Ron said, slightly waving his hand.

"Your hair," Lorraine whispered to Sawyer as she came in with the meatloaf. Sawyer touched his hair then looked at himself in a spoon. He noticed that some strands were sticking up from the nap. Embarrassed, Sawyer brushed it down with his hands, causing Hazel to laugh a little.

After the meal was finished and the desert was eaten, Ron offered to do the dishes. Lorraine said that they would both clean up, while Hazel and Sawyer could do what they wanted.

"Want to play this new video game I got?' Sawyer asked her.

"Yes. That sound great," Hazel said.

Sawyer went to his room and brought out his game system to the living room. He hooked it up and popped in the game that was called Underwater adventures. He loved the game, but some of his "friends" at school made fun of him for playing it. No one ever liked the games he liked, so when he showed Hazel it and she said it looked cool, it made him happy.

"So what do you do in the game?" Hazel asked him as he brought two controllers from his room. He began to hook them up while he explained the basic idea of Underwater Adventures.

"You can swim underwater with animals, go in a submarine, and even adopt one as your pet," Sawyer told her. He gave her a controller, and showed her what each button was for.

They played for about ten minutes, when Sawyer paused the game. Hazel was confused and looked at him. Where they really playing for that long? She was just getting to love the game.

"Hazel I need to tell you something," Sawyer said.

"Yeah?" _Please just say it._

"Yesterday when Susie came into the crow's nest it seemed like you felt, sort of..."

"Jealous? Left out?" Hazel asked him. Sawyer nodded.

"Were you any of those?" he asked her. Hazel shook her head and sort of laughed.

"Sawyer, don't worry about it. I was just still sad about the baby dolphins. It's okay," she said.

Sawyer turned away, and sighed in relief. Then Hazel realised something.

"Sawyer, were you worrying about that? Is that why you seemed tense today?"

"No..." he lied. Hazel sat down her controller and she grabbed his arm carefully.

"Sawyer, don't worry about me, okay?" Hazel looked at him seriously.

"Okay," he said grinning at her.

They continued to play Underwater Adventures for the next hour, before Lorraine told them to get off. Hazel noticed that it was 8:00 o'clock and her dad wanted her to be home by 7:30. She said goodbye to Sawyer and his mom, and then left.

Sawyer smiled as he watched her leave out the window.


	13. Overheard

**For CandyLover4180:**

**They are still together. You just have to wait till more chapters come. And Susie is just friends with Sawyer. Guys can have more than one girl best friend.**

**Anyways, thanks to whoever is reading this mess of a story. I appreciate the reviews! :)**

* * *

Sawyer stepped inside the house and peered inside the kitchen. He saw Ron and Lorraine talking at the table, and they didn't notice him come in. He sighed as he thought about how many times Ron has been at their house. Sawyer shook his head and went to his bedroom. He sat in his bed and pulled out his_ iphone _so he could text_ H_azel.

**_Sawyer: Ron's back... yay (sarcastic) _**

**_Hazel: Sawyer, come on. You need to just tell your mom that you don't like him._**

**_Sawyer: I can't._**

**_Hazel: Why? Do you even have a reason for disliking Ron?_**

**_Sawyer: um..._**

**_Hazel: Ha! That's a no._**

**_Sawyer: Whatever... Hold on I'm hungry._**

**_Hazel: k_**

Sawyer put his phone on his side table and went to the kitchen to get a snack. He got into the living room, but stopped when heard his mom say something to Ron. He could hear that well so he got closer and made sure he wasn't seen.

"You know, I actually was looking at homes in Washington. They have some nice ones," he heard Lorraine say.

"How about ones near by?" Ron said. Lorraine nodded, but Sawyer could not see.

_What?! Homes in Washington? What the heck are they talking about. _

_"_Sawyer is that you?" Lorraine said. Sawyer didn't know what to say, so he made a beeline for his room. Hazel had sent him a text wondering where he was.

_**Sawyer: I gotta go, sorry.**_

He was debating whether to tell Hazel what he overheard.

_**Hazel: That's okay. I have stuff to do anyway.**_

He decided not to.

...

Later that day, Sawyer found Hazel sitting near the boat house, reading a book. He slowly walked up to her and put his arms around her neck from behind, in a hug. She got startled, but smiled when she looked up and saw Sawyer there.

"Hey Sawyer," she greeted. Sawyer walked around the chair and faced her.

"How would you like to go on a movie date with me? I think there's a new dolphin movie playing," Sawyer told her.

"Oh, I can't. I have this book report for my dad that I have to finish," Hazel said.

"That's okay," Sawyer said. He smiled at her then moved closer to kiss her cheek. "I don't want to bother you so I'll leave."

Hazel smiled at him. "Thanks."

Sawyer walked to the aquarium where he saw Jordan, her brother Jack and Susie. They were all volunteering that day, but Sawyer thought that they should have a break. He went over to them and waved. "Hey guys, do any of you want to go see a movie?" he asked them.

"I do," Susie said. "I want to see that new dolphin movie!"

"That sound fun, but me and Jack have to get home," Jordan told Sawyer.

"Okay, I guess me and Susie will just go," he said.

...

After the movie, when Susie dad was driving them home, Sawyer wanted to tell Susie about what he had overheard. He kind of regretted not telling Hazel right away, so he had to get it out to someone.

"So you're moving?" Susie asked him.

"No, I didn't say that," he said. "I just heard my mom talking about homes in Washington or something."

"You probably just getting the wrong idea Sawyer," she said.

"Maybe, but she sounded serious."

The car pulled up into Sawyer's driveway, and he opened the door.

"Bye, Sawyer. I hope things go right," Susie said to him before he left.

* * *

**Not my favorite chapter...**

**So I know it's short, but I had to get this in there. It's an important part of the story. I've got this story figured out already, so if it is confusing, just wait. It will be good :)**


	14. Shocked

Hazel had been working on her book report for hours, that she decided she had to take a break. Even though she was home schooled, her dad had due dates; he was strict on when she had to turn things in. Hazel decided she would read more later, then maybe finish the book tomorrow.

Her most favorite thing to do while she took a break from school work was playing with Winter. She would take toys to her, and sit and on the edge of the pool. Winter's favorite toy was the duck with the ring on it. She liked it because it always reminded her of Sawyer.

Hazel enjoyed sitting alone while she waded her feet in he pool; though sometimes it would get lonely. She found that it was her only time to really think; she was always bouncing around doing things for the aquarium.

"Hey," she heard Susie say. Hazel was confused. She wasn't sure if she was talking to her or someone else. Hazel looked around the area, but know one was there.

"Hey," Susie repeated. This time actually getting Hazel's attention.

Hazel got up and stood in front of Susie. She wanted to ask why she was talking to her, but she didn't want to be rude. But then Susie smiled at her and something didn't seem right to her.

"Okay what is your problem?" Hazel asked her, getting angry.

"What?" Susie said innocently.

"Well, I mean you were mean to me before, and now you're suddenly nice to me?"

Susie had a confused look on her face, but Hazel could tell she was faking. Hazel stood, waiting for her to talk. She needed what was going on. Hazel stared intensely at Susie, until she broke.

"Fine you want to know why?" Susie said, getting aggresive.

"Yes."

"My dad found out about what I did. He told me I have to be nice to you," she said.

"Or maybe you don't want Sawyer to find out your being mean to me?" Hazel said. She felt really good saying that.

"Are you serious? You think I would do that?" Susie said.

"Yes I do," Hazel said. "Now that I have everything clear, you can leave. Sawyer's not here."

Susie had no words to say next, so she just did what Hazel said.

...

Sawyer was in his bedroom playing video games when he realised he was home alone. His mother had told him earlier that she was going to the store and he got distracted. He paused his video game and went to the kitchen to find something to eat. Sawyer was a growing teenager and was often hungry. As he passed by the counter near the fridge, he noticed a bunch of scattered papers. He remembered that the past couple of days, his mom was working on something.

Sawyer looked closer at the papers. He had a chance to see what his mom was up to without her knowing. Sawyer was expecting it to be boring bills, or work related stuff. But when he saw one paper in particular, it shocked him. It had information about selling a house. _Their_ house. The one Sawyer was standing in, about to get a snack from the fridge.

Suddenly Sawyer had lost his appetite. He couldn't believe what he had just seen.

* * *

**Sorry for the delay. Was on vacation. Back at it soon.**

**peace :)**


	15. Stuck

Sawyer didn't know what to do or how to feel. He just stood there in the kitchen, trying to take it all in. The stuff he had over heard Ron and his mom talking about were true. They were moving to Washington, where that dumb old Ron lived.

Sawyer stood there for another minute, until he heard a car pull in the drive way. He panicked and ran to his room. If his mom hadn't told him about the move yet, she obviously didn't want to him to know. He tried to make it look like he head been in his room the whole time. But what he didn't realize was that he had forgotten to put the papers back where they were.

Lorraine walked into the house with groceries in her arms. She called out for Sawyer to help her, but he purposely ignored her. Lorraine shrugged and walked to the kitchen with her arms full. She sat the bags on the table and the counter. As she was pulling things out of the bags, she noticed her papers were messier than before. She looked around and saw the "moving papers" on top of all of them. _Oh no. Did he find out? _She thought.

After all the food and groceries were put away, Lorraine went to Sawyer's room to see what he was doing. She knocked on his door quietly just in case he was sleeping.

"Come in," Sawyer said. He was still playing video games.

"What have you been doing while I was gone?" she asked him.

"I've been playing video games and stuff," he told her. It was true, but he just didn't say everything.

"Okay that's fine," Lorraine said, smiling at her son. She walked out of the room, thinking maybe he didn't see the paper. She assumed he would of mentioned something maybe he actually was happy about it.

Sawyer watched his mom leave, and made sure his door was fully closed. He grabbed his cell phone from his side table and quickly scrolled through his contacts. He had to call someone to talk about the move, but for some reason Hazel didn't come across his mind. He dialed Susie's number and waited for her to pick up.

"Hi Sawyer," Susie said on the other end.

"Hey," he said.

"Why did you call? You don't sound okay."

"I'm not."

"What is it?"

"I'm officially moving to Washington," Sawyer told her.

"Oh wow," she said, surprised.

They almost didn't say anything for a couple seconds.

"Are you mad? You know, about moving?" Susie asked him.

"Yeah. I haven't told my mom yet though."

"What do you mean?"

"She hasn't actually told me that were moving. I just found out for myself."

"Oh so your mom doesn't know?" Susie asked.

"Yeah."

"When do you leave?"

"I'm not sure, but soon I think."

"Oh well, I'm going to miss you. And I'm sure Winter will too," Susie said, sounding sad.

Sawyer's eyes widened when she said "Winter." He had totally forget about her. Sawyer didn't want to leave the dolphin as much as he didn't want to leave Hazel.

"Susie thanks for listening, but I have to go," Sawyer said. He suddenly had strange feeling in him.

"Okay, bye. Call me when you officially know when your leaving," Susie said.

"Okay bye."

Sawyer ended the call and sat his phone back down on his side table. He lay back on his bed and sighed. This whole moving situation was overwhelming for him. He was so confused and he didn't know what to do about it.


	16. Talking to Clay

Hazel woke up to the sound of blaring music outside of the boat house. She rubbed her eyes and walked to where the sound was coming from. She found Sawyer standing on the dock with his ipod and a Bluetooth speaker near by. Playing loudly was Hazel's favorite song. Forgetting that she was in her pajamas of sweats and a hoodie, Hazel stepped outside. She blinked a couple of times, making sure she wasn't dreaming.

"Sawyer what are you doing?" she asked. Although it was 7:00 am, she couldn't help but smile at him. He began dancing around, and motioned Hazel to come over.

"Come on dance with me," Sawyer told her. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to the center of the dock. Hazel wasn't sure what was going on, but she went along with it. They danced along to the song making up their own moves.

When the song ended, Hazel let go of his hand. "Sawyer your great and all, but did you really have to wake me up this early on a Saturday?" she said. "What's going on?"

"What do you mean?" Sawyer asked. Hazel shook her head.

"Never mind," she said.

Sawyer suddenly felt guilty that he wasn't telling Hazel about the move right away. He knew she would be very upset about it. They had been friends for a while, and now just became more. Hazel would him so much. And just after he came back from a three month trip, Hazel couldn't even stand that.

Sawyer couldn't bare to tell her right then and there though. That's why he played her favorite song. He had planned a bunch of things for them to do that day. Sawyer wanted to do as many as things as he could with Hazel before he moved. He had no choice.

"Where are we going?" Hazel asked, as Sawyer pulled her arm.

They reached the beach and Hazel saw a blanket with food laying on the sand. She moved closer to get a better look. Sawyer stayed back and smiled. "What's this?" she asked him. Sawyer stepped closer.

"It's a picnic," he said, like it should be obvious.

"At 7:00 Am?" she raised an eyebrow.

"It's breakfast," Sawyer explained. "Bacon, eggs, pancakes…" He walked over to the blanket and sat down, criss crossed. He looked up at Hazel, waiting for her to join him.

"I cooked all of this at 6:00 am," he told her, after she settled down onto the blanket.

"Really?" she asked surprised.

"Just wanted to do something cool. I thought a breakfast picnic would be different," he said with a grin. She smiled too.

Sawyer smiled again and gave a plate to Hazel. They ate up the food until the sun rose to it's fullest. Hazel checked the time on her phone and realized they better get going. Her dad had some new duties for them to do at the aquarium and he said to start 8:30. Hazel helped Sawyer clean up, and then they left to start their work.

…

Later that day at the aquarium, Sawyer made sure that Hazel was busy so he could talk to her dad. He waited until it was a good time and when he saw him in his office, he went inside. At first Dr. Clay didn't see him come in; he look up and Sawyer was standing in front of his desk.

"Hello Sawyer. What do you need?" Clay asked the boy.

"Well um, I need to talk to about something," he said. Clay nodded his head and motioned for Sawyer to sit in the chair that was in front of the desk.

"What did you want to tell me?" Clay asked him.

"I just wanted to thank you for the opportunity you have given me at the aquarium for the past years," Sawyer told him.

"You're welcome." Clay nodded. He was confused on why Sawyer had said that.

"And thank you for your daughter Hazel, she is amazing."

Now Clay was even more confused. "Where are you trying to get at?" he asked Sawyer.

Now Sawyer knew that there was no point on wasting time. He just had to be upfront and tell Clay what was going on.

"Well you see Dr. Clay," Sawyer began, "I mean Clay."

"Yes?"

"I'm moving to Washington," he finally said.

"State?" Clay said in surprise. Sawyer nodded.

"Yeah, we're leaving soon I think."

"I don't mean to ask this, but why?" Clay asked.

"My mom met this guys and his family lives there."

"Oh," Clay said to himself, but loud enough for Sawyer to hear.

"Yeah well that's what I had to say," Sawyer got up and started walking towards the door of the office.

"Were going to miss having you around here." Clay said to him. Sawyer turned around and gave him a small smile that was filled with both sadness and happiness.

"Thanks," Sawyer said before leaving the room.

He had felt sad emotions about the move before but for some reason the talk with Hazel's father made him even more upset. He wanted to tell his mother so bad that she was being selfish and that she wasn't even considering how he felt abut it, but he just didn't know how to bring it up. After all, she didn't even tell him about it to his face yet.

…

Sawyer walked into the house, opening the door slowly. He went to his bedroom hoping not to run into his mom, but then she appeared out of nowhere.

"Sawyer I need to tell you something," Lorraine said.

"Actually mom, so do I." Sawyer stepped closer to his mom. " I know we're moving," he told her.

"How did you find out?" she asked,

"I saw the papers on the table," he told her. Lorraine scratched her head.

"Oh. Well I guess now that you know there's nothing else to say."

"Yeah there is mom!" Sawyer's voice got louder, and his mom looked confused. "Why didn't you tell me we were moving?"

"I don't-" Sawyer cut her off.

"Because you don't even care how I feel. You just want to move because of stupid Ron!" Sawyer yelled.

"That's not all. Sawyer, there's this great job-" Lorraine tried to explain. Sawyer narrowed his eyes, and glared at his mom. Then he stepped back and shook his head. He went into his room and slammed the door. Lorraine stood there in shock, not knowing what else to do.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks to those who read this I'm trying hard to finish it even though I'm not that into this story anymore... I still appreciate reviews by the way! :)**


	17. A talk with Ron

Sawyer didn't speak to his mom the next morning. He grabbed something quick for breakfast, then he went straight to the aquarium on his bike. Inside, there was someone sitting next to Clay that he did not expect to see at Clear Water. Sawyer moved slowly and peered around a wall to take a look. He saw Clay shaking hands with Ron. They both smiled and Dr. Clay got up. Sawyer turned to walk away without Ron noticing, but he saw him.

"Oh hey Sawyer," Ron said. Sawyer nodded with a fake smile and slowly walked past, hoping he wouldn't say anything else."What are you up to?" Ron asked him. Sawyer stopped, and turned around to face Ron.

"I'm about to feed Winter," he told him. Ron looked around then back at Sawyer.

"You know, you remind me of someone," he said to him.

"Who?" Sawyer asked. It's not like he wanted to talk to Ron, he was just being polite by listening to him.

"My son. He loved animals just like you," Ron said.

"Where's your son?" Saywer aked. Ron's face fell, and his head went down. Sawyer had a feeling he shouldn't of asked him that.

"He died kid. Drowned three years ago," Ron explained. Sawyer could tell it was hard or him to say.

"I'm sorry," Sawyer said to him.

"Yeah me too," Ron said.

"Why?"

"I know you don't like me. I just barged in on your mom and you don't like that," Ron told him with a stern look in his eyes thgen suddenly got up and left. Sawyer stood there feeling confused and a little guilty. He had been so hard on Ron, and all he wanted was somebody like his son in his life again. Sawyer sighed and then went to go feed Winter. Feeding her helped him forget about everything that was going on. He sat on the edge of the pool, dangling his feet into the cold water. It used to tingle his toes when he first touched the water, but after a few times, he quickly got used to it.

"Hey!" Sawyer heard hazel say from behind him. Sawyer turned his body and looked up at her. She grinned and sat next to him, putting her feet in the water too. She was silent for a few minutes, admiring the way Sawyer fed Winter little pieces of fish. "You know, it's amazing," Hazel started, saying her train of thought out loud.

"What?" Sawyer turned to look at her.

"It's amazing how much Winter smiled when you're round her," Hazel told him.

"You can tell?" Sawyer said.

"Mm hm," she nodded. "Her eyes go wide and she makes those tweedy bird noises. Remember those?"

Sawyer smiled. "Yeah I do." He looked back at Winter, who was swimming around in the pool. He then remembered that he would never get to see her again. He would never get to feed her or swim with her. Sawyer then realized it wasn't fair not to tell hazel. He was going to have to do it sooner or later.

"Um, Hazel I gotta tell you something," Sawyer said.

"Yes?"

"I um-"

"Sawyer Hazel," a voice called, cutting him off. Sawyer sighed and looked to see who was walking there way.

"Hey guys come check this out," Phoebe said, pointing behind her. Hazel looked at Sawyer, then they both got up to their feet. They followed Phoebe, where she led them to one of the smaller pools outside.

"Check it out," Phoebe pointed at the pool. Sawyer and Hazel peered over the edge and looked into it. A baby dolphin was frolicking in the water, making cute noises. Hazel grinned widely. She looked and Sawyer to catch his reaction.

"We rescued him from the beach. He was caught in a plastic net," Phoebe explained to Hazel and Sawyer.

"Wow he's beautiful," Hazel beamed.

"You want to name him?" Phoebe asked her since she was the one who named Hope. Hazel looked at Sawyer who was silently admiring the dolphin.

"How about Sawyer names it this time?" she said.

Sawyer looked at her in surprise. "Me?" he said. Hazel nodded and Sawyer scratched the back of his neck while Phoebe and Hazel looked at him, anticipating for him to answer.

"Uh, well...how about John?" Sawyer suggested off the top of his head.

"I don't know.." Hazel said.

"Yeah, I'm not really good at this," Sawyer told them. Phoebe and Hazel giggled.

"It's okay Sawyer," Phoebe said.

"Yeah we can think of a name later," Hazel said.

...


	18. The Fight

When Sawyer woke up from a restless night of sleep, he heard his mom cooking breakfast in the kitchen. He got out of bed and walked down the hall, peering over the wall to see Lorraine. He had been afraid to confront her about the move, but Sawyer decided now was the perfect time as ever. Hearing her son, Lorraine told him to come sit down at the table. Sawyer slowly walked over, pulling out a chair and plopping down. Lorraine brought a plate of eggs, bacon, hash browns, and sausages to the table. "Uh mom," Sawyer said, dishing up the food onto his plate. Lorraine looked at her son. "Yes honey?" Sawyer looked down at his food, before looking back at his mom.

"Could we talk about the move?" he asked. Lorraine sat down in front of him.

"Sawyer we already discussed this," she told him.

"I know, but I'm ready to listen this time," he said. Lorraine smiled. For next few minutes, she explained to Sawyer how much she had gotten to know Ron, and where he lived. She talked about his family, and the job opportunity in Washington that would get them a nicer house and a new car. Sawyer was beginning to understand why moving to Washington meant so much to his mom. It was time he stopped thinking about himself.

"Mom?"

"Yes?"

"I don't know how to tell Hazel that we're moving," he said, looking down at the ground.

"You mean you haven't mentioned it to her yet?" Lorraine's eyes widened. She knew Sawyer talked to Hazel all the time. She assumed he would have told her already. Sawyer looked up.

"Every time I get the chance, I get scared. I'm afraid she'll be mad at me," he confessed.

"Honey, I'm sure she will understand," Lorraine assured him. Sawyer sighed and nodded, but he still wasn't so sure how he was going to tell Hazel.

...

That afternoon, Sawyer came to the aquarium for his "shift." He worked around for an hour doing random jobs, before sitting at the edge of Winter's pool, watching her swim gracefully. He thought about his problems, and how he wished his life was as easy as a dolphin. Just swimming around and eating fish all day, while kids and parents came in to see you. Now that was the life. But Sawyer was not even close to a dolphin. He was a human being with feelings, that can hurt other humans feelings. That's what Sawyer didn't like about being human. If you say, or do the wrong thing, somebody could get mad.

Sawyer stared into the pool, continuing to watch Winter, already missing her even though he hadn't moved yet. He heard footsteps and voices from behind, but he paid no attention to them.

"What's with Sawyer?" Hazel said, mostly to herself. But since Susie was around, she talked aloud. Susie heard her loud and clear, and grinned.

"I know what's up," she said, confident and proud. Susie stepped closer to Hazel.

"What?" Hazel asked, not believing for a second that Susie knew why Sawyer looked down.

"He's moving to Washington, and couldn't tell you," she told her. Hazel had no words to say, and she felt so confused. She gave Susie a stare, before brushing past her and running towards Sawyer.

"Sawyer!" Hazel yelled, startling him and making him nearly fall into the pool. He turned to look up at Hazel, who did not have a pleasant look on her face. "When were you going to tell me you were moving? To Washington?!" she shouted. Sawyer was speechless and startled by her tone of voice.

"Um, how did you know I was moving?" he asked, innocently. Hazel looked back at Susie, who had a confident smirk as she crossed her arms and watched.

"Susie told me," Hazel said, turning back to look at Sawyer. "Because apparently, she's the only person you could tell."

"That's not true," Sawyer said, standing up and facing Hazel. "I told your dad too."

"So you could tell my dad, and not me?" she said, with even more rage.

"I knew you'd be mad!" Sawyer said, his voice rising too.

"I'm not mad!" Hazel said.

"Well you sure sound like it," Sawyer said. Hazel took a deep breath, and rubbed her forehead. She took a second to calm herself.

"Sawyer, I'm not mad that you're moving, okay?" she said. "It's just lately, you've just been different."

"How?" he wondered. He didn't notice a change in himself.

"Ever since we became a couple, you've been having a hard time talking to me, and telling me what's going on."

"I'm very capable of explaining my feelings," Sawyer said, defending himself.

"Yeah, to Susie, who seems to be much more a friend to you than me," Hazel said.

"But you and I are boyfriend and girlfriend, remember?" Sawyer reminded.

"I don't know Sawyer," Hazel said, rubbing her head again.

"Don't know what?" Sawyer said, feeling hurt, confused and angry. Hazel sighed and began to walk away.

"I have to go," she said. Sawyer stood there in disbelief. He had no idea what had just happened. Was Hazel mad at him or not? He couldn't tell. Sawyer eyed Susie, who was across him, confused why she would do that to him. He then turned around, and left. He started walking fast, avoiding any contact with anyone, especially Hazel. When he passed by Dr. Clay's office, Clay came out and stopped him. "Sawyer, would you come in here for a sec," Clay told him through the doorway. Sawyer turned around to see him. Did he know about the fight he had with Hazel?

"Um, okay," Sawyer said, hesitantly walking into the office. Clay was behind his desk, holding piece of paper. He didn't look mad, which made Sawyer sigh in relief. "What did you want?" he asked Clay, slowing sitting on a chair that was in front of the desk. Clay then sat down too.

"I know you volunteer here at the aquarium, and you don't like to call it work," Clay said, putting the piece of paper on the desk, and in front of Sawyer. "But here's a check for all that you do for the animals." Sawyer's eyes widened at the big number written on the check.

"But it's one thousand dollars," Sawyer said, grabbing the check to take a closer look. Clay nodded, smiling. Sawyer looked up to thank him.

"Thank you, but I don't need this," he said, putting the check back onto the table. Clay grinned, and pushed it towards Sawyer again.

"You deserve this Sawyer. Take it with you to Washington, and buy whatever you like," Clay said. Sawyer took the check, and held onto it.

"Okay," he said. "Thanks again." He smiled, but he was trying is best not to cry in front of Dr. Clay. Sawyer got up, and headed to the door. When he turned around for one last look, Clay was still smiling. Sawyer gave him a nod, to thank him once more for the money, then left.

As Sawyer rode home on his bike, the check was carefully folded onto the pocket of his shorts. He still couldn't believe that Clay had given him so much money. He didn't want anything in return for volunteering at the aquarium. He loved doing it, and he loved the animals; it wasn't work for him. Sawyer tried to think of things he could buy with one thousand dollars, but nothing that interested him came to mind. He thought about buying something for his mom, but every time he had bought her something in the past, she wouldn't except it. She would probably tell him to go get something for himself.

When Sawyer reached his home, he put his bike against the garage door, and went inside. He found tons of boxes scattered around the living room, filled with things from around the house. Sawyer saw his mom put things from his bedroom into a box that read: _Sawyer's stuff._ "Mom!" Sawyer said, rushing up to the box. "Mom, I can pack my own things," he said. Lorraine smiled, holding some of Sawyer's clothes.

"Sorry, I wasn't sure if you wanted to or not," she said. Sawyer grinned, and took the box into his room to start packing. He began to place clothes and other belongings into the box, when he remembered that the check was still in his pocket, and he didn't want to crumple it up. He reached into the pocket, pulling the long rectangle piece of paper out. He stared at it for a moment, then finally figured out what he would do with the money. First he finished filling up the one box, then he told his mom that he had something that needed to be done.

So Sawyer left the house, and rode back to the aquarium. He was exhausted, but he needed to do this. He went inside, hoping no one would come up to him. Then he found a place he knew Hazel and him only went up to: the crows nest. Sawyer climbed the ladder, and he took the check from his pocket, along with a pen, a blank piece of paper and a rock. He wrote on the paper: _To Hazel, I know you're always trying to save up for something, so I will help you get started- Sawyer. _He then placed the check that Dr. Clay had given _him_, on the floor of the crows nest, and put the note on top. He used the rock as a weight so the papers wouldn't fly away. He sighed, then stepped down from the nest, and headed back to his house to finish packing.

* * *

**_Thanks for the reviews! You guys really motivate me to finish!_**


	19. Goodbye

Sawyer woke up the next morning feeling refreshed. Although he had the fight with Hazel the day before, he was starting to forget about it. He didn't need Hazel. If she wanted to be mad at him she could. He was moving anyway. In fact, he actually felt really glad to be moving.

"Honey, are you all set?" Lorraine called from the kitchen. Sawyer rubbed his eyes, and stepped out of bed. He stretched his arms out and yawned. He entered the kitchen and smiled at his mom.

"Yeah," he said, grinning. Lorraine studied her sons face as she stepped closer to him. She smiled too.

"Is that an actual smile I see?" she teased. Sawyer laughed.

"Mom," he said, now looking serious. "I just want you to know how glad I am that you found someone."

"Thank you Sawyer," Lorraine said. "I know it'll take some time to get used to. I just want you to be happy. That's my number one priority."

_If that was her priority, then she wouldn't have stayed together with Ron in the first place._

"How are you and Hazel doing?" she asked. Sawyer was afraid she would say that. How were they doing? He didn't know. For some reason, in this past year they weren't able to communicate like they had used to.

"We're okay," he lied.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah mom."

...

The first thing Hazel thought of when she woke up that morning, was how angry she was at Sawyer. How he never even told her that he was moving, but he told Susie. For some reason, Sawyer thought Hazel would be mad at him. Why would she be mad at something he couldn't control? Something as lame as moving away. Was she sad that about it? Maybe at first. But because of their fight, she was glad to have a break from him.

After Hazel said good morning to her dad, she grabbed a cup of coffee and took it up to the crows nest. As she climbed up, she noticed the check Sawyer had left for her. She picked it up and read the note. How stupid was he? She couldn't cash in the check if _his_ name was on it. This made Hazel even more agitated, she crumpled the check and tossed it over the nest. She watched a seagull pick at it, then fly away.

...

"Sawyer," Lorraine called to her son who sat in the back seat of their van. She started to slow down when they passed by the aquarium. "Do you want to say goodbye to Dr. Clay and Hazel?" she asked. Sawyer thought about it for a moment. He pretty much said his goodbye to Clay already, and he did _not_ want to run into Hazel after what had happened the day before. But he never got to say goodbye to Winter or the other dolphins.

"Okay," he agreed, but only to say bye to Winter. Lorraine parked the van so she could wait for Sawyer. When he got out, he looked around for anyone. The coast was clear. No Hazel in sight. He quickly rushed to the front doors, and peered in side. Hazel wasn't seen there either. Good.

"Hey Winter," Sawyer whispered as he got closer to her pool. He sat down. "I know this is hard for you, but I have to leave now." Sawyer sniffed and Winter made her tweedy bird noises at him. He smiled.

"Don't worry, I won't forget you Winter. Will you remember me?" She continued to make noise.

"That's good to hear," he said. Sawyer sighed. "Hazel will take good care of you."

Hazel was watching him from afar, then she started to cry. All things aside, she really _was_ going to miss him. But she couldn't go up it him. _Should_ she go up to him?

"Um," Hazel said, as she hesitantly stepped forward. Sawyer turned around, and she instantly regretted her decision. She averted her eyes and walked passed him quickly. She grabbed a bucket of fish.

"Come on Winter, time to eat," she said, ignoring Sawyer completely. He glared at her when she walked in front of him to feed Winter. Sawyer stood up, standing behind Hazel. He was so tempted to push her over, but he knew that would be too far. He decided to just leave the place. His mom was waiting for him anyway.

_Goodbye... _he thought.


	20. Over?

The road trip to Washington took days, and Sawyer was so exhausted when they finally arrived at Ron's house. Until they got settled and found a house for themselves, Sawyer and Lorraine would be staying at his. He didn't like the idea at first. It seemed weird to be living at someone else's house as a guest. He couldn't watch TV whenever he wanted or grab food from the fridge. But Ron said he would make Sawyer feel like he was at home. In fact, Ron had bought him a brand new PlayStation just for him to use. That was something Sawyer was excited about, since he only had ever used an Xbox. Ron had even bought him a collection games.

"You can play it in your room whenever you want," Ron told him.

"Thank you sir," Saywer said. He started to walk into his room.

"Sawyer, you don't need to call me sir," Ron said. Saywer turned around.

"Okay," he said awkwardly. Sawyer rushed to his room so fast, so he could avoid any further conversations Ron. He had to admit, he was starting to warm up to the guy. But still, talking to him would take some time. As Sawyer started to unpack his boxes, he unloaded his laptop and charger. He then he decided to video chat Hazel to let her know he arrived safely in Washington, even after the fight.

"Hi Hazel," Sawyer said to the webcam. He was surprised she answered. Maybe she wanted to apologize.

"Sawyer, I only answered because I needed to say some things," Hazel said.

"Okay, great. I have somethings to say too. I know we-"

"Listen Sawyer," she cut him off. "I'm sorry."

"Me too." He smiled.

"No, I'm sorry that we even became boyfriend and girlfriend."

"What?" Sawyer was in disbelief.

"Becoming more than friends was the worst thing for us," Hazel explained.

"How? I thought you liked me?"

"I did like you... I mean..." Hazel turned to the side to wipe her eye, trying to hide her tears from Sawyer.

"What do you mean?" Sawyer said.

"You are a wonderful person Sawyer, but you deserve someone better than me."

"Better than you? You are the best for me. There is no else like you Hazel," Sawyer pleaded. There was a brief moment of silence, but it wasn't awkward.

"I gotta go Sawyer," Hazel said. But he wasn't finished talking to her.

"Okay?" He didn't know what to say.

"Bye." Hazel shut her laptop abruptly.

...

After Hazel hung up on Sawyer, she started to cry. She sat in the crows nest sobbing until her eyes hurt. As she wiped her eyes, she heard Susie coming. Hazel didn't even care about what Susie was doing, she was too sad.

"Hazel are you crying?" Susie asked. She climbed up to the crows nest. "What's wrong?" she asked Hazel, totally forgetting that they were enemies.

"Saywer and I are over. I don't think we'll even be friends again," Hazel choked. Susie didn't know what to do so she just hugged her. Hazel hugged back, not caring that Susie and her weren't on the best terms. She just needed someone to comfort her.

...

**Thanks to those who still read this mess of a story! I appreciate the reviews! Don't worry, I will finish this story someday!**


	21. Another Day

It was a beautiful sunny day, and usually when the suns out, Sawyer would be outside because he enjoyed the fresh air. But that day was different. After his conversation with Hazel, he felt dead. He lay in his bed, motionless since he woke up at 8 AM. His mom had't even checked up on him, since he didn't come to breakfast. She was probably spending time with Ron. At least _she_ still had someone. Sawyer didn't even have a friend anymore. Well, he did have Susie but they were miles apart. _What good is a friend who is far away? You can't hangout with them. You can't talk to them in person._ _You can't touch them._ And by touch them, Sawyer meant hold their hand, or hug them. Wait? Who holds hands with a friend. Sawyer had been thinking about _Hazel. _That's who wanted to hold hands with and hug.

Sawyer sat up on turned around to aggressively punch his pillow. He pulled his arm back and put his hand into a fist and whacked his pillow many times in row. With each punch, he screamed in frustration and anger. He stopped when he heard feet shuffling near his bedroom. Ron poked through the door. "I heard screaming, is everything alright?" he asked.

"GO AWAY!" Saywer yelled, throwing his pillow across the room at Ron. He didn't mean to scream at him, he was just so angry that anybody in his way would set him off. Ron left awkwardly, then Lorraine came in.

"Sawyer, honey what's wrong?" she asked, sitting on his bed. Sawyer lay on his side, his back facing towards her, crying. Lorraine, touched his head stroking his hair and comforting him.

...

Hazel was actually glad Sawyer had moved to Washington. Now she could focus on school and working at the aquarium. She started to forget about him and them no longer being friends. Besides, he was miles away. Long distant relationships are hard. Even platonic ones. Hazel couldn't be bothered to call him everyday or video chat him to see how he was doing. She had her own things to worry about. She didn't need Sawyer to get in her way. She didn't want him to get in her way.

Hazel had woke up bright and earlier to get a head start on her school work. Then she began to feed all the animals, starting with Winter. She took a bucket of fish and tossed some into the pool. Hazel sat at the edge of the pool, watching Winter. She noticed Winter wasn't scarfing down the fish like she had always done. She stayed off in the corner and stared at the fish floating at the top of the pool.

"I know you're sad that's Sawyer moved," Hazel said to Winter. "But you'll be fine without him." Winter whistled, like she had answered Hazel. "I mean, If I can survive with out him, so can you." Suddenly a memory flooded into Hazel's mind...

_It was August 3rd, Sawyer was thirteen years old and he was preparing for Hazel's surprise thirteenth birthday. He arranged with Dr. Clay to plan the greatest birthday ever for Hazel. Near the boat house, they had set up decorations and a giant **Happy Birthday Hazel** banner. Sawyer's most favorite thing was the water slide Clay had installed at the edge of the dock so they could slide into the water. _

_Hazel had been off with Phoebe to buy supplies that they needed for the aquarium, having no idea a party was waiting for her. When they got back to the aquarium, Hazel noticed none of the volunteers and workers were out._

_"Where is everyone?" she asked Phoebe. Phoebe tried her best not to crack a smile._

_"I don't," she shrugged. "I'm going to put these supplied away, you go head to the boat house. I think you're father is there."_

_"Okay," Hazel agreed. She ran to the boat house, expecting her dad to have a list of chores for her to do, but she didn't see him anywhere. "Dad?" she called. Hazel looked around. She saw the water slide that was attached to the dock. "When did that get there?"_

_"Surprise!" She heard a bunch of voices yell. Her dad, Sawyer, and the volunteers came pouring out of the boat house. Hazel's eyes widened and she couldn't stop smiling. "When did you guys plan this?" Hazel asked. Dr. Clay stepped towards his daughter. "It was all Sawyer's idea," he pointed to him. Sawyer smiled at her as he held a giant cake with her name on it. It also had a frosted dolphin holding balloons on it's fin._

_"You thought of this?" Hazel said to Sawyer. He nodded. "Thanks Sawyer. This the best thing ever. The water slide is so awesome."_

_"Wait!" Sawyer sat the cake on a table. "That's not the only thing." He ran into the boat house to get something. When he came out, he held a kitten in his hands. Hazel gasped. "Oh my gosh, it's so adorable," she squealed. Sawyer handed her the kitten. _

_"Happy Birthday Hazel," he said._

_"Hey, you two want to try out the water slide?" Clay said. Hazel nodded._

_"Here dad hold the kitten," she said._

_"Race you!" Sawyer yelled as he ran to the edge of the dock._

_"Wait what about our clothes?" Hazel asked. _

_"What clothes?" Sawyer smiled, and pushed Hazel into the water, before jumping in himself..._

The memory came out of nowhere. Hazel shook her head, trying to get the memory out. She didn't need anymore of those coming into her brain. After all she was trying to forget him. Right?

...


	22. The Breakdown

"So you and Sawyer aren't talking?" Susie said to Hazel at the aquarium. Hazel nodded.

"It would be too difficult to keep a long distanced friendship anyway," she said, wading her feet in Winter's pool. Susie walked over to Hazel and sat next to her.

"Can I tell you something?" she said to Hazel.

"Yeah."

"I really liked Sawyer. A lot," Susie began.

"I kind of figured that," Hazel said.

"No but wait. I saw the way he looked at you, and new I had to let it go," Susie explained.

"Thanks, I guess," Hazel said.

Susie hung her head down.

"I've been a total jerk," Susie said. Hazel wasn't expecting that to come out of her mouth. Suddenly she felt really sad for her. Lately they actually have been getting along and to hear her say that she's been mean to Hazel made her forgive her.

"It's okay Susie," Hazel apologized. Susie looked at Hazel, surprised that she actual forgave her.

"Are you sure? I was terrible to you. I pushed you into the pool and almost gave you a concussion."

"Listen, Susie, I've tried to forget about that, Okay?"

"Okay. I truly am sorry," Susie apologized again. "I just wanted you to know that I want you to have Sawyer."

"That's great, but I don't think I want to hear that name ever again," Hazel said.

...

Sawyer was in his bedroom playing video games when he got called by Lorraine from Ron's living room. He shrugged and paused his game then went to the living room to see his mom and Ron sitting close on the couch. They looked at Sawyer when he came in and then looked at each other.

"What?" Sawyer said flatly.

"Sawyer, come here." Lorraine motioned him to come closer. He did, but very slowly. Then Ron spoke.

"Sawyer, I asked your mother to marry me," he said. That was the last thing Sawyer expected him to say.

"We want to know what you think,' Lorraine said. Sawyer stood their in disbelief. First Hazel told him she didn't want to be friends anymore, and now Ron proposed to _his_ mom.

"Um, I think it's great," he lied, before dashing into him room. He slammed the door so loud that a vase in the living room crashed to the ground. Sawyer screamed and started to punch his bed. He was interrupted by his cellphone ringing.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Hi Sawyer, this is Susie."

"Oh hi Susie," Sawyer said, trying to sound calm and like he was not just screaming and yelling.

"I just wanted to let you know that I apologized to Hazel about me being such a jerk to her," Susie said.

"Thanks for doing that Susie."

"You're welcome, Sawyer. I'm sorry I was mean to your girlfriend."

"That's okay Susie. Hey by the way, did Hazel mention me to you?" he asked hopefully.

"As a matter of fact yes," Susie said.

"What did she say?" Sawyer asked.

"Sorry Sawyer, but she said she never wants to hear your name ever again," Susie told him.

Sawyer dropped his phone to the ground without hanging up and saying goodbye to Susie. Everything just got worse for him. He felt like jumping off a cliff and never coming back up from the water. Sawyer ran out of the house and climbed up to the top Ron's roof. He stood with his arms up and yelled as loud as he could, his throat hurt. He jumped up in the air, but then slipped and started to fall backwards. He tumbled down the roof and landed on the ground with a thud. Everything turned black, and his problems were forgotten.

...


	23. Together Again

Life at the aquarium was quiet that evening. All the volunteers had gone home and the animals were unusually quiet. After the volunteers go home, it was up to Hazel and Clay to finish up the day. Clay got a call from Lorraine explaining that Sawyer had hurt his head and he was at the hospital. Clay immediately went to find Hazel.

"You wanna go now? I'll buy you a ticket to Washington," Clay said to Hazel.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"You mean you didn't hear?"

"What?"

"Sawyer's in the hospital. He fell off a roof," he told her.

Hazel looked at her dad with her mouth hung wide open. She had no words to say and she couldn't process the news.

"Are you serious dad?! Let's go now!" Hazel raised her voice and flung her arms around in the air.

Hazel and her dad got into his car and rushed to the airport to buy last minute tickets to Washington. Hazel had even offered to buy hers with her own money she had saved up in her bank account. She didn't even know why she would spend so much on someone she was no longer speaking to. But when she heard that Sawyer was in the hospital, she had to go see him.

Clay and Hazel flew to Washington from Florida, and Lorraine picked up them at the airport. They drove in the car to the hospital where Sawyer was.

"He was unconscious at first," Lorraine explained from behind the wheel. Hazel bit her lip hard.

"But he's awake now." Hazel sighed in relief.

"What exactly happened?" she asked.

Lorraine shook her head. "We don't know. I just found him outside lying on the ground."

_Man I hope he's okay_ Hazel thought as they drove to the hospital.

At the hospital, Hazel and Clay were allowed to see Sawyer by the doctors permission. They had their moment with Sawyer, but Clay knew he had to leave them alone.

"Hey," Hazel said standing next to his bed. Sawyer had his head bandaged with dried blood seeping through. His arm had an IV stuck into it and they were bruised. He managed to say,

"Hazel, I'm glad your here. And I'm pretty surprised that you even came," he said.

"I know, I am too," she said. Hazel sat down on the bed, facing him. She grabbed one of his bruised hands and held it. It felt warm and soft even when bruised and bloody. She saw Sawyer grin upon her holding his hand. That made her happy despite what they were going through.

"I lo-" Sawyer spoke.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Sawyer shut his eyes, and continued to smile as Hazel still caressed his hand.


	24. Do You Love Me?

Hazel stayed overnight in one of Ron's spare rooms while her dad booked a hotel. He figured she'd want to be as close to Sawyer as she could.

Hazel woke up the next morning after visiting Sawyer in the hospital anxious for him to come home. She kept thinking about what he was about to say to her.

"I'm so glad he's coming home," Lorraine said to Hazel in the living room. The two sat on the couch enjoying the peaceful silence of the morning.

"Me too," she answered. Hazel sighed and looked out a nearby window. Lorraine studied her expression.

"Sawyer seems very special to you huh?" Lorraine asked.

"I dunno. I want to believe so, but-"

"But what?"

Hazel faced Sawyer's mom. She sought her for advice.

"I've known Sawyer since we were eleven, and I've always had a crush on him," Hazel explained. Lorraine nodded as she followed along.

"Everyday I would tell myself, 'I have to tell him I like him'. I never did until a couple months ago. All this time I thought he was the one for me, and now I'm not so sure."

"What makes you not so sure?" Lorraine asked.

"I don't know. How do you know when you really love someone?" Hazel wondered.

Lorraine smiled.

"Well, when you love someone, no matter what you're doing with that person you enjoy doing it with them. Even something so simple and boring."

Hazel thought about all the times she Sawyer had cleaned the pools for hours.

It was such a dreadful tedious task, but she realized when doing it with Sawyer the job didn't seem terrible at all.

"And when you love someone you can't go a day without thinking of them."

Hazel had thought of Sawyer every single day when he left for Washington. Even when they were not speaking. She remembered thinking of his smile and warm eyes. Hazel loved they way he looked at her. It made her feel special.

"You also care for them even if you're in an argument or are fighting."

Hazel wanted to fly to Washington right away to see Sawyer, even though they just had that awful video chat conversation. Maybe she did love him?

...

Later that day Sawyer was ready to come home from the hospital. Ron offered to pick him up. When he came home, he still had a bandage wrapped around his forehead, and he was in a wheel chair. Hazel saw him get wheeled into the living room and she smiled as she walked to him. Lorraine and Ron left the two teens to be alone.

"Sawyer are you feeling well?" Hazel asked. She sat on the couch while his wheel chair parked in front of her.

"I feel way better than before," Sawyer said. Hazel nodded, then there was a long pause before they said anything.

"Sawyer, I've missed you a lot since you've moved," she confessed.

"I thought you hated me?" he said. Hazel shook her head so fast.

"No, no. There is nothing that could make me hate you. Yeah, I could get really angry at you, but never would I hate you," Hazel said. "Hate is too strong of a word."

"That's good to hear. This whole time I thought you hated me," Sawyer said.

"Oh, I'm sorry Sawyer."

"That's all right." Sawyer smiled, and he reached his hand over slowly to touch her knee. "I was going to tell you that I love you at the hospital yesterday but I was too afraid."

Hazel looked deeply in his eyes and touch his hand with hers. "Do," he stuttered. "Do you love me?" Hazel took her hand away and leaned back.

"I don't," she admitted. "I don't know if I'm in love or if I know what it is." Sawyer put his head down.

"Oh," he muttered.

"But."

He perked up.

"I do know that you are very special to me Sawyer, and I never want us to be apart."

"I agree," he smiled, even though he hoped that she would say that she loved him too. Hazel smiled back and leaned off of the couch so that she was inches away from his face, she put her lips against his, kissing him for a good moment. Hazel then breathed in and pulled away, making Sawyer's smile so big.

"I thought you said you didn't know if you loved me?" Sawyer teased.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I can't kiss you," she said. Sawyer laughed and without any thought, chose to kiss her himself.

They didn't know what the future would hold for them, but they both knew they wanted to always be by each others side. Sawyer and Hazel lived in that moment and forgot about what had happened in the past.

Now it was them against the world.

* * *

**Thank you so so so so much to those who have read this story till the end. It was a long and hard process, but I'm glad I finished it. And thank you for over 200 reviews! That's the most I have ever had on a story!**

**Until my next story,**

**Peace Maximan**


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